RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
^CONSTRUCTION
IN
MISSISSIPPI
BY
JAMES WILFORD GARNER, PH.M.
FELLOW IN COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, NEW YORK, AND MEMBER OF THE
MISSISSIPPI HISTORICAL SOCIETY
gorit
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
LONDON : MACMILLAN & CO., LTD.
IQOI
All rights reserved
COPYRIGHT, 1901,
BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.
Nortoooti
J. 6. CuBhing & Co. - Berwick ft !
Norwood Man. US. A.
TOife
PKEFACE
THE primary purpose of this work is to give a detailed
study of reconstruction in Mississippi with reference to its
political, military, economic, educational, and legal phases.
A secondary purpose is to present a brief review of the
Civil War so far as it affected directly the state of Missis-
sippi or the people thereof, and, accordingly, special empha-
sis has been laid upon those results of the war that sustained
more or less relation to the problems of reconstruction.
Realizing the incompleteness of any history of reconstruc-
tion which concludes with the readmission of the state to
the Union and the reestablishment of civil government, the
author has followed up the results of the congressional policy
as they appeared in the period of " carpet bag " and negro
domination, and has carried his narrative down to the final
overthrow of the party that had been the especial benefi-
ciaries of the congressional policy, — an event locally known
as the "revolution of 1875."
The author is disposed to believe that a thorough study
of the actual working out of reconstruction in its different
relations and activities in any one of the Southern States will
be of some value to the general student of American history,
for, after all, the process and results in one state were essen-
tially the same in all. So far as he knows no attempt has
yet been made in this direction, and in undertaking to write
such a history of Mississippi he has been possessed of a good
many misgivings. More than one person to whom he ap-
plied for advice ventured the opinion that the smoke of
battle had not sufficiently cleared away and with it the
passions and animosities of the war to make it possible for
any American to discover and set forth the facts of recon-
struction without bias or prejudice. Although fully sen-
vii
yiii PREFACE
sible of the difficulties that beset the historian of this period,
the author does not sympathize with the view that the events
of that time cannot be narrated with reasonable fairness
and justice to all concerned. The time has come when the
history of reconstruction can be written, and it ought to be
written by a Southerner, for it is the Southerners who best
understand the problems which the reconstructionists under-
took to solve and the conditions under which the solution
was worked out. This, of course, does not mean that the
history should be written from the Southern "point of view"
or from any other "point of view," unless it be that from
which the truth may be best discovered and presented.
The author of this book feels keenly his own prejudices,
but he has made an earnest effort to divest himself of every
influence arising from early environment or from later edu-
cation that would tend to swerve him from a plain and
unprejudiced statement of the truth, and has endeavored to
set forth his findings without fear or favor, but with charity
for both reconstructionists and reconstructed. Most of the
events recorded in this book occurred before the writer was
born; not one of them is recent enough to come within reach
of his memory. He is not, therefore, handicapped by any
prejudices founded on personal observation or experience.
On the whole, the author concurs in the view of Lamar-
tine, that it is the province of the historian to relate and not
to judge. He has, therefore, except in a few instances where
opinions were clearly warranted by the facts, confined him-
self to a simple statement of the truth and left the reader to
form his own conclusions.
In concluding these preliminary remarks the author de-
sires to acknowledge his indebtedness to ex-Governor Adel-
bert Ames, ex-Governor R. C. Powers, Mrs. ex-Governor
J. L. Alcorn, ex-Senator H. R. Pease, Hon. C. E. Furlong,
Major Alvan C. Gillem, and Mrs. Betty Dent Smith for
placing at his disposal private papers of historical value ; to
Hon. H. M. Street, Judge H. F. Simrall, and Hon. John R.
Lynch for information conveyed through private letters ; to
PREFACE ix
Mr. R. H. Henry, editor of the Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-
Ledger, for permission to examine his files ; to General F. C.
Ainsworth of the War Department for special courtesies;
and to his wife for faithful and conscientious service in the
preparation of the manuscript for the printer and in reading
and correcting the proof.
The author desires to make special acknowledgments to
his teacher, Professor W. A. Dunning of Columbia Univer-
sity, who in the midst of his academic duties found time to
read the manuscript of this book and make many valuable
suggestions.
JAMES WILFORD GARNER.
MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS,
NEW YORK,
May 25, 1901.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER FIRST
SECESSION AND CIVIL WAR
PA.OK
I. The Rupture with the United States . . . . . . 1
II. Waging War 8
III. Problems of Military Occupation 29
IV. Political and Economic Activity during the War ... 38
CHAPTER SECOND
THE TRANSITION FROM CIVIL WAR TO RECONSTRUCTION
I. The Peace Sentiment 61
II. The Collapse of the Confederacy 66
III. The Private Law Status during the War 63
CHAPTER THIRD
PRESIDENTIAL RECONSTRUCTION
I. The Inauguration of the Presidential Policy in Mississippi . 76
II. The Reconstruction Convention of 1865 . . . ... 82
III. Conflicts between the Civil and Military Authorities ... 96
IV. The Status of the Freedmen 109
CHAPTER FOURTH
THE ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF RECONSTRUCTION
I. Economic Problems 122
II. Reconstruction of the Postal and Railway Service . ... 139
CHAPTER FIFTH
CONGRESSIONAL RECONSTRUCTION
I. The National Inquest • • 147
II. The Reconstruction Acts 156
III. Military Government under General Ord 161
xi
Xii CONTENTS
PAGB
IV. The Registration of the New Electorate 171
V. Party Politics in 1867 176
VI. Military Government under General Gillem .... 182
VII. The Reconstruction Convention of 1868 186
VIII. Party Politics in 1868 205
IX. The Removal of Governor Humphreys and the Appointment of
General Ames 213
X. The Rejection of the Constitution 216
XI. The Mississippi Question in Congress 222
XII. Military Government under General Ames .... 228
XIII. Party Politics in 1869. The Constitution ratified . . .237
• CHAPTER SIXTH
THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU 249
^/CHAPTER SEVENTH
THE REESTABLISHMENT OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT
I. The Final Act of Reconstruction 269
II. Readmission to the Union 272
III. The Inauguration of a Civil Governor ..... 277
, IV. Reorganization under the Reconstruction Constitution . . 281
CHAPTER EIGHTH
THE "CARPET-BAG" REGIME
I. The Election of General Ames as Civil Governor ... 290
II. The Inauguration of the Ames Administration .... 294
III. Local Government under Republican Rule .... 305
IV. State Expenditures 314
V. Unpopular Legislation . . . . . . . . 324
VI. The Vicksburg Troubles 328
CHAPTER NINTH
THE KUKLUX DISTURBANCES IN MISSISSIPPI 338
CHAPTER TENTH
EDUCATIONAL RECONSTRUCTION 354
CONTENTS Xlll
CHAPTER ELEVENTH
THE REVOLUTION
PAGE
I. The Election Campaign of 1875 372
II. Riots and Disturbances during 1875 375
III. Preparations for War 382
IV. The Triumph of the Democracy 389
V. The Impeachment of State Officials 401
VI. The Completion of the Revolution 410
RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
CHAPTER FIRST
SECESSION AND CIVIL WAR
I. THE RUPTURE WITH THE UNITED STATES
IT is necessary to a correct understanding of the history
of the period which it is proposed to cover in this chapter
to review briefly the steps leading up to the beginning of
hostilities with the United States.
The perpetuation and extension of the system of negro
slavery, the real cause of the Civil War, was declared by
the Supreme Court of Mississippi in 1837 to be a part of
the public policy of the state.1 Three years before this deci-
sion was made, the people of the state repudiated unequivo-
cally the doctrine of nullification and secession. On the
9th of June, 1834, the Democratic state convention, pre-
sided over by General Thomas Hinds, unanimously resolved
that "a constitutional right of secession from the Union,
on the part of a single state as asserted by the nullifying
leaders of South Carolina, is utterly unsanctioned by the
Constitution, which was framed to establish, not to destroy,
the Union."2 Secession in Mississippi was nothing more
than an abstract question until the adoption by Congress of
the policy of excluding slavery from the territories. What
is believed to have been the first organized opposition to this
policy was made by a state convention at Jackson in Octo-
ber, 1849. A number of resolutions was passed by this
body, one of which declared that in certain contingencies
their separate welfare might be consulted by the " formation
1 Mitchell vs. Wells, 37 Miss. 254.
2 Speech of J. A. Wilcox, Union Member of Congress from Mississippi,
1852, Globe, 32d Cong. 1st Ses. App. 284.
B 1
2 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
of a compact of union that would afford protection to their
rights and liberties. " 1 Here was a formal declaration in
favor of secession as a "last resort." The convention in
all its deliberations followed the advice of Mr. Calhoun,
who in the previous July had sketched, in a letter to Colonel
Tarpley of the Supreme Court,2 a plan of operations. Mis-
sissippi took a prominent part in the Nashville convention,
being represented by eight members, one of whom, Chief
Justice Sharkey, presided over the deliberations.
The enactment of the Compromise measures of 1850
gave additional impetus to the secession movement. These
measures were opposed by all the Mississippi delegation in
Congress, with the solitary exception of Senator Foote.
Jefferson Davis, his colleague, declared that every prominent
man in the state was opposed to the measures.3 Southern
Rights Associations sprang up in nearly every community,
and the Compromise measures were universally denounced
from the stump. Foote says the press was well-nigh unani-
mous in favor of secession.4 Upon the adjournment of Con-
gress the delegation from Mississippi returned to the state
to give an account of their cause, and, with the exception
of Foote, to urge resistance to the action of Congress.
Albert Gallatin Brown said, in a speech at Jackson, " So
help me God I am for resistance ; and my advice to you is
that of Cromwell to his colleagues, " pray to God and keep
your powder dry.'"5 Davis, Me Willie, Featherston, and
Thompson spoke in a similar strain, while Foote bestirred
himself to vindicate his course before the people. The
legislature had already passed resolutions of censure against
him, declaring that the interests of the state were not safe
in his hands.6 He then stumped the state, making in all
forty or fifty speeches, and urged the people to send dele-
gates to a convention which he had presumed to call. Gov-
ernor Quitman, the leader of the secession party, called the
legislature together in extraordinary session, and recom-
mended measures, looking to the secession of the state in
case certain demands were not complied with.7 The day
on which this message was read to the legislature, Foote's
convention assembled at Jackson. It adopted resolutions
! For the resolutions of the Convention, see speech of Senator R. B. Rhett,
Globe, 32d Cong. 1st Ses. App. 63.
2 For the letter, see Globe, Ibid. p. 52. * Casket of Reminiscences, p. 355
» Memoirs of J. Davis, I. p. 465. « Globe, ibid. p. 336.
The resolutions are printed in the Globe, ibid. pp. 55, 56.
7 Claiborne's Life of Quitman, II. p. 125.
THE RUPTURE WITH THE UNITED STATES 3
indorsing his course, advocated acquiescence in the Com-
promise measures, warmly denounced the secession move-
ment, and organized the Union party in Mississippi. The
legislature, undisturbed by this "growl of whiggery" so
near its doors, took up the governor's recommendation, and
passed an act for a convention a year hence to " consider the
state of Federal relations and the remedies to be applied."
The people of the state were now sharply divided into
two political parties. One was the party of secession, organ-
ized in November, 1850, under the name of the Southern
Rights Party, and which assumed the name of the Demo-
cratic State-rights Party in June, 1851. By some they were
called " Resisters." It was composed of the bulk of the old
Democratic party and a small element of State-rights Whigs.
The Union party was organized on the day on which Foote's
convention met ; namely, the 18th of November, 1850. It
was composed of old line Whigs and Union Democrats.
The secession party had in its ranks a preponderance of the
wealth and talent of the state, but lacked the concert of
action and the audacity of the Union party. In the cam-
paign that followed, the precise question involved, says
Foote, was, "Will Mississippi join South Carolina in the
act of secession from the Union ? " The question was to
be settled by the election of a governor and delegates to
the state convention. Quitman, the most rabid of the
" Resisters," was nominated by the Democrats for governor
over Jefferson Davis, while Foote was chosen to be the
standard bearer of the Union party. The election of dele-
gates occurred a month earlier than the gubernatorial elec-
tion. In the first election the Union party won by a majority
of seven thousand votes. Quitman, mortified at this une-
quivocal condemnation of his policy, and almost certain that
the convention which he had fathered would declare against
him, retired from the race after issuing an address to the
people.1 This left the secession party without a leader, and
the state election was but a month off. Jefferson Davis, who
many felt should have received the nomination in the first
instance, was persuaded to resign his seat in the Senate to
lead their forlorn hope. Foote was elected governor, but
the Union majority of seven thousand in September was
reduced to less than one thousand in October.2 The Union
party elected a majority of the legislature, and three mem-
1 Claiborne's Quitman, II. p. 146.
a Lalor, Cyclop. Pol. Sci., II. 860.
4 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
bers of Congress, and a Union Democrat was chosen to
succeed Foote in the United States Senate. The convention
met at Jackson November 10, 1851. It was composed of
ninety-three delegates and was, without question, the most
distinguished of the ante-bellum assemblages.1 The purpose
of the convention, as stated by those who called it, was to
"demand a redress for past grievances, and a guarantee
against future assaults upon the rights of the people." No
such action as this, however, was taken; but instead the
convention resolved that the people would acquiesce in the
Compromise measures as a permanent adjustment of the sec-
tional controversy. The convention furthermore resolved
that it held the Union second in importance only to the
rights and principles which it was designed to perpetuate,
and that the asserted right of secession was utterly unsanc-
tioned by the Constitution.2 Foote was sanguine enough to
believe that this put at rest forever the question of secession
in Mississippi, and he publicly declared in the Senate that no
man with secession sentiments could be elected to the most
insignificant office.3 The secession movement really seemed
to be dead, but during the next ten years many events
occurred to reduce the numerical strength of the strong
Union party which Foote had built up in 1851. The infrac-
tions of the fugitive slave law, the Kansas struggle, the pub-
lication of " Uncle Tom's Cabin," the John Brown raid, and
the election of Lincoln intensified the feeling of hostility
toward the North. It was well illustrated in the John
Brown affair, on account of which the legislature, without
referring the bill to a committee, and almost without a dissent-
ing vote, appropriated §150,000 to purchase arms. Reuben
Davis, a member of Congress from Mississippi, declared that
when the news of Lincoln's election reached Washington,
members from the South purchased long-range rifles to take
home with them, and some rejoiced that the end was near.4
Shortly after the election, the legislature was called together
in extraordinary session, and a state convention ordered to
meet on the 7th of January following to " consider the exist-
ing relations between the government of the United States
and the government of the people of Mississippi, and to adopt
1 Some of the prominent members were William L. Sharkey, J. W. C.
Watson, Jason Niles, J. L. Alcorn, Wiley P. Harris, William Barksdale,
Charles Clark, and Amos R. Johnston.
2 The resolutions are printed in Claiborne's Quitman, II. ch. xii.
8 Globe, op. cit. p. 59.
* Recollections, p. 389.
THE RUPTURE WITH THE UNITED STATES 5
such measures for vindicating the government of the state
and the protection of its institutions as shall appear to be
demanded." The governor was authorized to appoint com-
missioners to visit the other slave states, and inform them of
the action of Mississippi, and to invite their cooperation in
the adoption of efficient measures for their defence and
safety. The commissioners at once bestirred themselves at
the various Southern capitals, at all of which they were
received in truly diplomatic style as ambassadors from foreign
republics. Governors were formally notified of their arrival,
audiences were granted, and their credentials submitted in
the most formal manner. Committees of the legislature were
appointed to wait upon them and extend the courtesies of
the chambers, and their addresses were delivered before the
joint session of the two houses. Complimentary resolutions
were sometimes passed, and the proceedings in the reception
of the commissioner enrolled on parchment, the great seal
affixed, and the signatures of the officers of both houses
attached. The instrument was then presented as the " response
of a sister state to the friendly greeting of Mississippi."
Their missions in most cases were successful.1
In the meantime the canvass for the election of delegates
to the convention was proceeding. In a good many counties
mass meetings were held, and resolutions adopted declaratory
of the sense of the community on the all-absorbing question.
Most of these, but by no means all, were in favor of seces-
sion. A very respectable minority were strongly opposed to
secession. They bestirred themselves to secure the return
of Union delegates, and were successful to the extent that
about one-fourth of those chosen were Whigs, most of whom
were opposed to secession, and some of whom had positive
instructions to vote against an ordinance of secession. The
secession contingent were divided among themselves as to
the expediency of secession without the joint cooperation of
a certain number of other slave states. They were designated
as " cooperationists " and "immediate secessionists," the
latter party constituting about two-thirds of the convention.
The ultimate object of both was the same. As against the
North, they were all united ; they were all for resistance, the
difference of opinion being only as to time and manner of
procedure. The recognized leader of the "immediate seces-
sionists " was Mr. L. Q. C. Lamar, who, on January 9,
1 The addresses and reports of the Mississippi commissioners are printed
in the Appendix to the Journal of the secession convention.
6 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
brought forward the ordinance of secession. Within an
hour's time it was adopted by a vote of 84 to 15.1 An effort
to make the ordinance operative only upon the secession of
four other states was defeated by a vote of 75 to 25. An
effort to have it submitted to the people for ratification or
rejection was defeated by a vote of 70 to 29. 2 An amend-
ment to secure further constitutional guarantees in the Union
was voted down by a majority of 78 to 21.
On the 12th of January Jefferson Davis delivered to
crowded galleries his farewell address, and then took formal
leave of the United States Senate. He was followed on the
14th by his colleague, Senator A. G. Brown, who announced
his withdrawal in a few words without any attempt to be
dramatic or sensational.3 On the day of Da vis's final leave-
taking, the Mississippi delegation in the lower house informed
the speaker, by a written communication, of their unqualified
approval of the action of the Mississippi convention, and
announced their withdrawal from the United States Congress.4
Mr. Gholson, the United States district judge, at once for-
warded his resignation to the President. The Mississippi
cadets at West Point withdrew, and the native Mississippians
in the regular army threw up their commissions and returned
home to enter the service of the Confederacy.5 The United
States marshals were requested by the convention to con-
tinue in the performance of their duties, so far as they
related to the completion of the census, and no further.
Postmasters and other officers and agents connected with the
mail service were " authorized " to continue in the discharge
of their duties until otherwise ordered by the convention.6
1 Convention Journal, p. 16.
2 One of the delegates, Mr. Flourney of Pontotoc County, remembered
chiefly for his radicalism after the war, says he voted for the ordinance upon
the promise of a number of the prominent secessionists that provision should
be made for submission to the people. Testimony before Kuklux Committee,
1871, p. 95.
8 Globe, 36th Cong. 2d Ses. pt. i. p. 352.
* Ibid. p. 485.
6 It appears from the report of the adjutant general that there were only
two cadets from Mississippi at West Point at the time of the passage of the
ordinance of secession. One resigned February 14 and the other December 23.
The convention instructed the senators and representatives in the Confederate
Congress to use their influence to have established in the South a military
school similar to that at West Point for the cadets of the seceding states.
Two hundred and forty-five officers of all grades resigned from the United
States army in 1861 to join the Confederacy. Of those credited to Mississippi
two became brigadier generals in the Confederate army. See G. W. Cullum's
Biog. Register of the Graduates of West Point.
6 Journal, p. 19.
THE RUPTURE WITH THE UNITED STATES 7
The United States land officers were authorized to continue
in their offices and perform their duties according to the
laws of the United States.1 All citizens of the United
States domiciled in Mississippi were declared to be citizens
of the state, and the federal naturalization laws were re-
enacted and applied to the state. At a second session of the
convention, held in May, the Confederate Constitution was
ratified by a vote of 78 to 7, after the rejection of several
resolutions which had in view the taking of the sense of the
people on the question. A number of ordinances was passed,
the chief purpose of which was to place the state on a war
footing.
Although the electorate was not directly consulted in the
proceedings by which relations with the United States were
broken oft and a great war inaugurated, the work of the con-
vention seems to have been thoroughly acceptable, if a judg-
ment may be formed from the hearty response to the call of
the governor for troops and from other popular manifestations
of approval. On the night after the passage of the ordinance,
the state Capital was brilliantly illuminated, and the " Bonnie
Blue Flag " was sung for the first time in a local theatre by
its author, who had witnessed the drama of secession. Reuben
Davis relates that upon his return from Washington he found
the rejoicing so great that he was rarely out of the sound of
cannon from the time he entered the state until he reached
his home at Aberdeen. The women of the state were almost
unanimous for resistance, and the encouragement which they
gave to the soldiers in the field and their sacrifices for the cause
of the Confederacy were the subject of frequent acknowledg-
ment by the legislature during the dark days of the war.
The responses to the governor's call were so ready, that, as
early as the middle of May, he was compelled to announce
that a sufficient number of troops to fill any probable requisi-
tion by the Confederate government had been tendered, and
he was, therefore, under the " painful necessity " of inform-
ing those who were anxious to enlist, that no more companies
would be received for the present.2 " The call to arms," he
said, " has been responded to in a manner unknown to modern
times, and the call for means to support the volunteers is
being answered in a way to gratify the heart of every
patriot." The several railroads within the state tendered
the free use of their cars for transporting troops and supplies,
and prominent citizens in various portions of the state drew
1 Journal, p. 134. 2 Appleton's Ann. Cyclop. 1861, p. 475.
8 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
their personal checks for sums to be used in the purchase
of arms. Senator Brown sent a draft for $ 500, while Jeffer-
son Davis and Jacob Thompson guaranteed the payment in
May of $24,000. A number of prominent citizens subscribed
one hundred bales of cotton ; one subscribed fifty hogsheads
of sugar ; another, one hundred kegs of powder. A gentle-
man of Vicksburg offered $1000 to aid in the equipment of
every volunteer company raised in that city.1 To what ex-
tent these demonstrations were made for the purpose of unit-
ing the people, and possibly of frightening the North into an
acceptance of the demands of the South, it is impossible to
say. It is certain that as late as July the belief was wide-
spread that there would be no war.2
II. WAGING WAR
Secession having been accomplished, the state proceeded
to assert its sovereignty. On the 12th of January the Quit-
man battery hastened to Vicksburg, planted a number of
cannon on the bluff, and a few days later, as the steamer
A. 0. Tyler from Cincinnati passed down the river, fired a
shot athwart her bows and brought her to. This was done at
the instance of the governor, who feared that a hostile expe-
dition from the North was planning to seize the arsenal at
Baton Rouge and certain forts in Louisiana. Upon receiv-
ing assurances that they were well garrisoned, the governor
allowed the steamer to proceed, and steps were taken to
make known to the people of the northwestern states that
peaceful commerce on the Mississippi would not be inter-
rupted. " This policy," said the governor, " will materially
aid in preserving the peace between the southern and north-
western states." The convention adopted an ordinance rec-
ognizing the right of the riparian states to navigate the
river for commercial purposes in time of peace, and declared
its willingness to enter into "negotiations" with them for
the enjoyment of that right. The hope was entertained
that, by holding out commercial inducements to certain of
1 See Vicksburg Whig of March 12, 1861, for names of these subscribers.
2 Reuben Davis says Governor Pettus refused to purchase at a bargain cer-
tain improved ordnance machinery, for the alleged reason that there would
be no war and that the military committees of the legislature were strongly in
favor of disbanding certain of the troops after the battle of Bull Run, assign-
ing as a reason that the last battle of the war had been fought. Recollections
pp. 404, 411.
gn-
"
WAGING WAR 9
the northwestern states, they might be detached from the
Union. The hope, however, proved to be delusive.
So far as the possession of Federal property was concerned,
Mississippi was less fortunate than some of her sister states.
There was not a Federal arsenal in the state, and no fort
except a small one at Ship Island, which had been neglected,
and was, at the time of secession, unprepared for defence.
There were some lighthouses, one or two marine hospitals,
and possibly a small custom house on the coast. After the
organization of the Confederate government, the title to this
property, as well as that of waste and unappropriated land be-
longing to the United States, was vested by the state in that
government. As soon as the governor was informed of the
seizure of the arsenal at Baton Rouge, he sent a messenger to
request the governor of Louisiana to divide the spoils. The
latter responded by sending eight thousand muskets, one thou-
sand rifles, six 24-pound guns, and a considerable amount
of ammunition.1 The post offices, with their funds and other
property, were transferred to the service of the Confederacy.
In some instances the funds were retained by the postmas-
ters, but upon the establishment of the power of the United
States in Mississippi, in 1865, they were compelled to account
for all moneys appropriated to their own personal uses, or
turned over to the Confederate government.2
The secession convention created the office of postmaster
general, and provided for a postal system by reenacting all
laws, contracts, and regulations of the United States for carry-
ing the mail.3 It does not appear, however, that a postmaster
general for the state was ever appointed. The United States
postal service was withdrawn on the 4th of February, it being
impossible to continue it longer.
During the first year of the war Mississippi was free from
the presence of the Union army, but with the beginning of
1862 the scene of the conflict shifted to the northern part of
the state. From first to last forty-seven engagements were
fought on Mississippi soil. The most noteworthy military
operation was of course the siege of Vicksburg, which lasted
for a period of forty-seven days. During these memorable
days both citizens and soldiers were reduced to the most
desperate straits for food. Mule meat was a delicacy, and
was in great demand at a dollar per pound.4
1 Message to the legislature, January 15, 1861.
2 Report of Postmaster General, 1865-1866, p. 107.
8 Convention Journal, p. 140.
* The Vicksburg Citizen of July 2, 1863, a tiny sheet printed on wall
10 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
There was scarcely a building that was not struck by
shells, and many were completely demolished. To avoid
death under such circumstances the inhabitants burrowed
into the hillsides and lived in caves. Subjected to the burn-
ing sun, and to fogs and rains, thousands fell sick, so that
one-third of Pemberton's army were in the hospitals at the
time of the surrender. By the first of July the army was
on the verge of mutiny for want of food,1 and on the fourth
Pemberton surrendered the city, and with it one of the largest
armies of the war. There were at least thirty thousand men,
over a hundred siege guns, and about four thousand small-
arms lost to the Confederacy. The loss of higher officers
was especially heavy, among the surrendered being one
lieutenant general, three major generals, nine brigadier gen-
erals, and over a hundred colonels. Grant's first demand,
that of unconditional and immediate surrender, was modified
so that the men were allowed to march out with their side-
arms and to retain their horses and other personal property.
They were then released on parole and allowed to return to
their homes. The importance of the surrender was not so
much in the number of men or military supplies captured,
but in the strategic value of the place. A few hours after
the surrender, the river was lined with steamers along the
levees. Less than a week later Port Hudson fell, and the
Confederacy was cut in twain. On the 16th of July a St.
Louis steamer reached New Orleans, and in the suggestive
language of President Lincoln " the father of waters rolled
unvexed to the sea."
The western boundary of the state having thus been
secured, operations were pushed in every direction by the
Union forces, so that by the end of the war there were few
places that had not at one time or another been subject to
military government and occupation. A year before Vicks-
burg fell, the towns in the northern part of the state, Corinth,
paper, said : " We are indebted to Major Gillespie for a steak of Confederate
beef, alias meat. We have tried it and can assure our friends that they need
have no scruples at eating the meat. It is sweet, savory, and tender, and so
long as we have a mule left we are satisfied our soldiers will be content to
subsist on it." Pemberton, in a report dated June 22, said in regard to the
use of mule meat: " I am gratified to say it was found by both officers and
men not only nutritious but very palatable and in every way preferable to
poor beef." S. K. Heed, Vicksburg Campaign, p. 130.
1 See Official Records, Series 38, Vol. 24, pt. i. p. 983, for an anonymous
letter from one of the soldiers to Pemberton, warning him that the army was
so near starvation that they were likely "to do anything." "I tell you
plainly," he said, "you had better surrender us if you can't feed us. Men
are not going to lie here and perish, if they do love their country."
WAGING WAR 11
Inka, Holly Springs, and Oxford, were occupied by the enemy
in the first advance southward. At all these towns there
was more or less destruction of property. At Holly Springs
three blocks of buildings and the railroad depot were alleged
to have been burned. The University buildings located at
Oxford were for a while the headquarters of General Grant.
From Oxford the army proceeded along the Mississippi Cen-
tral railroad to Grenada, an important railroad center. The
enemy reached here about the middle of December, 1862.
Before evacuating the town the Confederate authorities
burned fifteen or twenty locomotives and one hundred cars.
Thousands of farmers abandoned their plantations and fled
before the approaching army.
During the Vicksburg campaign most of the important
towns in the southwestern portion of the state fell into the
hands of the Federal authorities. The chief of these were
Port Gibson, Grand Gulf, and Natchez. Natchez was a place
of considerable wealth and culture, but, unlike Vicksburg,
did not occupy a position of strategic value. It was never
fortified by the Confederate authorities, inasmuch as it could
be easily flanked above and below. There were never but
two cannon in the place, and one of these was an old gun
captured from Burgoyne at the battle of Saratoga, and kept
in the town more as an article of curiosity than as a weapon
of defence. It was finally melted and made into small-arms
and bucklers for the Confederate service. When Farragut's
fleet steamed up the river, the town surrendered without a
struggle on July 13, 1863, and with it were captured ten
thousand bales of cotton.
In May, 1863, Jackson, the capital of the state, fell into the
hands of the Federal army. Early on the morning of the 14th
of that month Grant telegraphed Halleck : " I will attack
the state capital to-day."1 On the following day he tele-
graphed : " This place fell into our hands yesterday, after a
fight of about three hours. General Joe Johnston retreated
north, evidently with the design of joining the Vicksburg
force. I am concentrating my force at Bolton to cut them off
if possible." On the 18th the Union generals had a banquet
at the governor's mansion.2 Shortly after the capture of Jack-
son, General Grant assembled the corps commanders at the
state house and gave them orders. General Sherman was
instructed to destroy the railroad tracks in and about Jack-
1 Badeau's Grant, I. p. 243.
2 Official Records, Series I. Vol. 24, Serial No. 38, p. 531.
12 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
son, and all property belonging to the enemy. How thor-
oughly he performed the task can be gathered from his
report, made after the second raid upon Jackson. He says :
" Indeed the city, with the destruction committed by ourselves
in May last, and by the enemy during the siege, is one mass
of charred ruins. ... I then ordered all ordnance to be col-
lected and destroyed, and put working parties to destroy the
railroads. Besides the breaks at the north and south before
recounted, twelve miles north and south of the town were
absolutely destroyed ; every tie burned, and every rail warped
so as to be utterly useless. About twenty platform cars, fifty
box and passenger cars, were burned in the city and all
the wheels broken. About four thousand bales of cotton
used as parapets were burned. Two heavy rifled 6-inch
guns with an immense pile of shot, shell, and fixed ammuni-
tion were destroyed and cast into Pearl River." General
Steele with three brigades was sent to Brandon, where he
destroyed three miles of track.
Among the buildings destroyed at Jackson were the Con-
federate Hotel, the railroad depots, the penitentiary, Greene's
cotton factory,1 the foundry, a hat factory, two bridges across
Pearl River, the Catholic church, the office of the Mississippian,
and the block of private buildings. The presses of the Missis-
sippian were broken and the type scattered in the street. A
number of books were stolen from the state library, some of
which were returned in 1867 by General Ewing of Ohio.2
The soldiers appear to have been turned loose on the town
to work whatever destruction seemed to them desirable. A
correspondent of the Chicago Times thus describes the work
of plunder : " The first few hours were devoted by our soldiers
to ransacking the town and appropriating whatever of value
or otherwise pleased their fancy, or to the destruction of
such articles as they were unable to appropriate or remove.
Pianos and articles of furniture were demolished, libraries
were torn to pieces and trampled in the dust, pictures thrust
through with bayonets, windows broken and torn from their
hinges. Finally after every other excess had been committed
in the destruction of property, the torch was applied. The
entire business portion of the city is in ruins except a few old
1 Badeau says the owners of the cotton factory protested against its de-
struction on the ground that many women and poor families were employed
in it, but Sherman decided that it must be burnt. Military Hist, of U. S.
Grant, I. p. 250.
2 See his letter in the Hinds County Gazette of April 13, 1866. See also
Official Records, Series I. Vol. 24, pt. ii. p. 537.
:
WAGING WAR 13
frame buildings. One residence after another has been
burned until none of the really fine ones remain, save those
occupied by some of our general officers. Such complete
ruin and devastation never followed the footsteps of an army
before." * The correspondent of the Chicago Tribune gave
another picture. He said : " Jackson, the formerly flourishing
capital of the state, is in ashes, and all the region roundabout
is laid waste, bridges destroyed, and everything which might
be made useful to the rebels in making Jackson or Canton
a base of supplies. There is not even substance for a band
of guerrillas." 2 General Badeau says : " The importance of
Jackson as a railroad centre and a depot of stores and military
factories is annihilated and the principal object of its capture
attained."3
But Jackson and the " country round about " was not the
only community in Mississippi in which General Sherman's
peculiar theory of war was applied. After the first occupa-
tion of Jackson he moved eastwardly along the line of the
Alabama and Vicksburg railroad to Meridian, an important
railroad centre in the eastern part of the state. He reached
Meridian on February 15, 1864, and at once issued an order
in which he said : " The destruction of the railroads inter-
secting Meridian is of great importance and should be done
thoroughly. Every tie and rail for many miles in each direc-
tion should be absolutely destroyed or injured, and every
bridge and culvert should be completely destroyed."4 To
accomplish this purpose the work of destruction north and
east of the town was assigned to General McPherson, while
that south and west was assigned to General Hurlbert. Three
miles of track and three bridges were destroyed on the
Vicksburg road, ten miles on the Selma road running east of
Meridian, and thirty-five miles on the Mobile and Ohio road
running north and south. Of course the town otherwise
fared badly. Nearly every unoccupied building was destroyed,
and a good many private residences as well, if we may believe
the testimony of the inhabitants.5 An Ohio volunteer says
they had orders to burn all unoccupied houses, but the sol-
1 Quoted by the New York World of Aug. 14, 1863.
2 Chicago Tribune of Aug. 2, 1863. Relative to the charge that the
town was pillaged Badeau says in his biography of Grant : " A hotel and a
church were burned without orders, and there was some pillaging by the
soldiers which their officers sought in every way to restrain." Mil. Hist, of
U. S. Grant, I. p. 250.
3 Mil. Hist, of U. S. Grant, I. 250.
* New York Herald, March 15, 1864.
6 Letter from Meridian, New York Times, March 27, 1864.
14 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
diers were not very particular whether the houses were occu-
pied or riot.1 " Houses were broken open and plundered,
every horse, cow, and chicken in the place was seized, not a
fence was left, the commissary stores were destroyed, and
the slaves carried away with the army." 2 The railroad depot,
two hotels (the Ragsdale and Burton houses), the Confederate
machine shops, the hospital, twelve government sheds, the
arsenal, a number of government warehouses, and the gun-
shops were among the public buildings destroyed.3
The other towns and villages in the path of his march suf-
fered quite as much as Jackson and Meridian. Brandon, the
first town of importance on the road east of Jackson, and the
county seat of Rankin County, was one of these. An eye-
witness thus describes the scene : " The work of destruction
was most thoroughly done. The houses of prominent rebels
were burned. Every horse and mule that could be found
was seized upon, and the number became so great that a
special detail was made to care for them. In fact, everything
of an edible nature was levied upon and made an item in our
commissariat. Thousands of blacks came into our lines.
The railroad track was torn up, and every wagon, bridge,
and depot was burned." 4 The editor of the Hinds County
Grazette says the army destroyed his office and its equip-
ments — the accumulations of twenty-five years.5
Seventy-six miles east of Jackson is the village of Decatur,
the county seat of Newton County. It is reputed to have
had thirty buildings burned. Lake Station near by lost two
livery stables, the machine shops, three locomotives, a railroad
water tank, a turntable, thirty-five cars, two saw-mills, and
a quantity of lumber. At Enterprise, the chief place in
Clarke County, the railroad depot, two flour-mills, fifteen
thousand bushels of corn, two thousand bales of cotton, two
hospitals, and other buildings were burned. At Marion, the
county seat of Lauderdale, the railroad station and several
other buildings were burned. Quitman, on the Mobile and
1 Letter of Adjutant 0. G. Phillips, 32d Ohio Volunteers, New York Daily
News, March 21, 1864.
2 New York World, March 14, 1864 ; New York Herald, March 15, 1864.
8 A correspondent in the New York Tribune said: "Nearly every build-
ing in Meridian was destroyed save those occupied, and the smoking ruins
with their blackened chimneys and walls standing as giant sentinels over the
sorrowful scene sent a thrill of pity to the hearts of those whom stern war
and military necessity compelled to apply the torch." Quoted by the New
York Express, March 15, 1861.
* Correspondence of the New York Tribune dated March 21, 1864.
6 Hinds County Gazette, April 13, 1866.
WAGING WAR 15
Ohio road about fifty miles below Meridian, had two flour-
mills, a saw-mill, depot, and other buildings burned, while
almost the entire length of the railroad between it and Me-
ridian was destroyed. Other towns that met a similar fate
were Lauderdale, Hillsboro, Bolton, and Canton. At the
last mentioned place three locomotives, a number of cars, and
the repair shops were burned.1
From Meridian the Sherman expedition returned to Vieks-
burg over substantially the same route which it had first
travelled. He had been gone less than a month, had freed
ten thousand slaves, captured seven thousand horses and
mules, destroyed nearly three hundred miles of railroad, and
several thousand bales of cotton.2 General Sherman thus
describes the character of his work : " We are absolutely
stripping the country of corn, cattle, hogs, sheep, poultry,
everything, and the new growing corn is being thrown open
as pasture fields or hauled for the use of our animals. The
wholesale destruction to which the county is now being sub-
jected is terrible to contemplate." 3
In summarizing his work, after the return from Meridian,
General Sherman said : " We have destroyed three great
arteries of travel in the state, which alone could enable the
enemy to assemble troops and molest our passage of the Mis-
sissippi River ; we have so exhausted the land that no army
can exist during the season without hauling all his supplies
in wagons. This seems to me to be a fitting supplement to
the reconquest of the Mississippi River, and makes perfect that
which would have been imperfect." His only complaint was
the tendency of the troops to pillage and plunder.4
Although a vast amount of property was destroyed by the
Sherman expedition, some of it wantonly no doubt, there is
good reason to believe that the reports of the army officers,
and especially the letters of the newspaper correspondents
who followed the army, unduly exaggerated the importance
of the expedition as a military operation. It was compared
to a " frightful tornado sweeping everything in its course,"
while the country traversed was said to have been ", a region
which was as an Eden, but was now akin to a howling wilder-
ness." 5 A local paper, on the other hand, described the
1 New York Tribune, March 15, 1864.
2 Correspondence of New York Tribune, March 21, 1864.
8 Official Records, Series I. Vol. 24, pt. ii. p. 525.
* His official report is published in full in the New York Times of Sept. 20,
1863. He said: "There was and is too great a tendency oo plunder and pil-
lage that reflects discredit on us all."
6 New York Express, March 15, 1864.
16 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
raid as an " abortion," and declared that the country ravaged
was a poor piney woods belt sparsely settled, while the prop-
erty destroyed consisted chiefly of the villages, small cabins
along the road, and about fifty miles of railroad track.1
Sherman's theory of war was well described in a letter
which he addressed to a committee of Warren County citizens
in 1864. " Our duty," he said, " is not to build up, but to
destroy the rebel army, and whatever of wealth and property
it possesses."2 But when, in the prosecution of war, as he
understood it, the non-combatants were reduced to starvation,
he was ready to extend them a helping hand. In the latter
part of July, 1863, he informed Grant that he had desolated
the land for thirty miles around Jackson, and that there were
about eight hundred women and children who were likely to
perish of starvation unless they could receive some relief.
He asked for permission to give the mayor and a committee
of citizens two hundred barrels of flour and one hundred bar-
rels of pork, if they would pledge themselves to devote it
to charitable purposes.3 The permission was granted and
the supplies issued. At Clinton he left thirty days' rations
for five hundred people. In each case written obligations
were taken that the provisions should be " held sacred for the
use of the impoverished inhabitants." And thus he says,
" we shared with those whose homes had been burned by
war, freely of our stock of provisions on hand." 4
The most notable Federal raid in Mississippi, aside from
Sherman's expedition, was that of Brigadier General B. H.
Grierson. With seventeen hundred cavalry he started from
Lagrange, Tennessee, on the 17th of April, 1863, and moved
in a southwesterly direction across the state of Mississippi,
passing through or near the towns of Corinth, Ripley, New
Albany, Pontotoc, and Houston, in the northern part of the
state. At the latter place he is alleged toliave seized $10,000
from the county treasury, and to have destroyed the county
records. He struck the Mobile and Ohio railroad near
Egypt, where the usual amount of destruction was wrought.
From here he continued his expedition, passing through the
towns of Starkville in Oktibbeha County, Louisville and
Philadelphia in Winston County, Decatur and Newton in
Newton County, at which latter place two railroad bridges,
four and one-half miles of railroad track, twenty cars loaded
1 Macon (Miss.) Confederate, March 1, 1864.
2 The letter is printed in full in the New York Times of Jan. 17, 1864.
8 Official Records, Series I. Vol. 24, pt. ii. p. 530.
* New York Times, Sept. 20, 1863.
WAGING WAR 17
with supplies, and several miles of telegraph wire were de-
stroyed. Crossing the Leaf River and burning the bridges
behind him, he proceeded to Raleigh in Smith County, where
it is alleged he seized $3000 from the county treasury.
From thence he moved upon Westville in Simpson County,
struck the New Orleans, Jackson, and Great Northern railroad
at Hazlehurst, where he destroyed forty cars and a quantity
of ammunition and stores. He then moved down the railroad
to Brookhaven in Lincoln County, where he captured two
hundred Confederate prisoners, a quantity of muskets, and
five hundred tents. From Brookhaven he marched south-
ward to Bogue Chitto, tearing up the railroad track and burn-
ing the bridges, trestles, and water tanks. At the latter
place fifteen freight cars loaded with stores, together with
the depot and other buildings, were burned. Ten miles below
Bogue Chitto he swooped into the town of Summit, where he
destroyed twenty-five freight cars and a quantity of govern-
ment sugar. At this place he left the railroad, and taking a
southwesterly course, proceeded to Liberty, in Amite County,
in the meantime making feints on Osyka and Magnolia.
From Liberty he marched to Greensburg, Louisiana, and
finally to Baton Rouge, the terminus of his expedition. In
seventeen days he had marched eight hundred miles, destroyed
two hundred cars, a number of locomotives, bridges, depots,
tanneries, between fifty and sixty miles of railroad, captured
one thousand prisoners, twelve hundred horses, three thou-
sand stand of arms, and a quantity of ammunition. Grierson
estimates the value of property destroyed by him at $4,000,000.1
From Lagrange, his starting point, to Holly Springs, a
newspaper correspondent in September, 1863, found only five
plantations out of fifty occupied. In the majority of instances
the buildings had been burned.2 In August, 1863, General
Winslow, with three cavalry regiments, made an expedi-
tion up the Mississippi Central railroad and destroyed a con-
siderable amount of railroad property at Durant and vicinity.
Panola and Coldwater were also visited.3 In September,
1864, the university town of Oxford was " made free with "
by a force under the command of General A. J. Smith.4 In
June, 1863, Colonel Mizner moved down the Mississippi and
1 His official report of the expedition is printed in full in the New York
Times of August 30, 1863. The New York Herald of May 18, 1863, contains
an account from a newspaper correspondent. It agrees substantially with
Grierson' s report, except that in some cases the results are overstated.
2 New York Evening Express, Sept. 21, 1863.
8 New York Herald, Sept. 3, 1863.
4 An eye-witness thus describes the work of destruction at Oxford : "In
18 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
Tennessee railroad, passing through five counties and playing
havoc with the country, which he says was cleared of every-
thing that an enemy could subsist upon.1 In the follow-
ing month Colonel Bussey made a raid upon Canton and
destroyed a good deal of railroad property and six hundred
bales of cotton.2 In December, 1864, Colonel Osband moved
up the Central road from Canton, destroying railroad property
at Vaughan, Pickens, and Goodman, Twenty-six hundred
bales of cotton, a quantity of government salt, and $160,000
worth of supplies were also destroyed.3 About the same
time General Davidson made an expedition across the south-
ern part of the state, beginning at Baton Rouge and ending
at Pascagoula. The people were thrown into considerable
excitement, and the governor called out the reserves, but it
appears that the amount of property destroyed was incon-
siderable.4
These were the most noteworthy " Yankee raids " during
the war. There were, of course, others of less importance.
Generally, in the larger expeditions, detachments were sent
out from the main line of operations to ravage the country.
It should be observed also that in many cases these expedi-
tions were either in pursuit of a Confederate force, or were
pursued by one which likewise subsisted upon the country
and destroyed property, especially when it was in danger of
falling into the hands of the enemy. It is a mistake, there-
fore, to assume that the vast destruction of property was
exclusively the work of the Union armies. Thousands, if
not tens of thousands, of bales of cotton, man}?1 miles of rail-
road, quantities of stores, and some public buildings were
destroyed by the Confederate forces.5
The part played by the people of Mississippi in the Civil
the meantime our advance had made free with Oxford, burning all the fine
brick blocks fronting on the public square, and also the Court House, in one
grand conflagration." " The houses of some prominent official rebels were also
fired. The splendid mansion of Jacob Thompson, rebel Secretary of the Inte-
rior, with its gorgeous furniture, went up in crackling flames, a costly burnt
offering to the * Moloch of treason.' " Correspondence of the Dubuque Times
in New York Times of Sept. 10, 1864.
1 Official Records, Series I. Vol. 24, pp. 487 and 480.
2 Ibid. pp. 551-554.
3 New York Times, Dec. 17, 1864.
4 Memphis Argus, Dec. 6, 1864.
6 See Official Records, Series I. Vol. 42, pt. ii. p. 509, for a letter from the
president of the Mississippi Central railroad to a Confederate general ad-
vising against the absolute destruction of the rolling stock and equipments,
owing to the impossibility of replacing them. It was suggested that the
same results might be accomplished by removing the rails and the parts of
the engines most difficult of construction and placing them beyond the reach
WAGING WAR 19
War was an interesting one. Curiously enough the state
furnished more troops to the Union army than it did to the
Confederate army, the number being 545 whites l and 79,000
blacks.2 By the census of 1860 there were 70,295 white
males in the state, between the ages of eighteen and forty-five,
while the total enlistments in the Confederate army during
the war were 78,000. Down to November 1, 1863, forty-six
regiments and a number of unattached battalions and cavalry
companies had been organized and enlisted.3 At the out-
break of hostilities the eagerness for military service, espe-
cially among the young men, was extraordinary. They
clamored for assignment to duty, and exhibited an impa-
tience at the dilatory methods of the mustering officers.
The names of some of the companies tendered are signifi-
cant. The following are selected at random : Abe's Re-
jecters, the Reuben Davis Rebels, the Tippah Tigers, the
Blackland Gideonites, the Chunkey Heroes, the Benita
Sharpshooters, the Rankin Rough and Readys, the Yankee
Terrors, the Tullahoma Hardshells, the Oktibbeba Plough-
boys, the Buena Vista Hornets, the Pontotoc Minutemen,
etc. There were few great battles of the war, in which
some of them did not take a more or less conspicuous
part. Some idea of how they were sacrificed for the cause
of the Confederacy may be gathered from the records of
their commands. The Vicksburg cadets went out 123
strong, and but 6 returned ; the " Sharpshooters " from the
same place went to the front with an enlistment of 124,
only 1 returned.4 Of 125 men in the Quitman Guard
from Pike County only about 25 lived to return. At the
battle of Shiloh the Sixth Mississippi Regiment lost 300
men out of 425, the Sixteenth Mississippi at Sharpsburg lost
over 63 per cent of those present, while the Twenty-ninth
Mississippi lost at Chickamauga about 53 per cent of those
present ; 5 of the total enlistments it was estimated that about
one-fourth were either killed in battle or died of wounds or
of disease contracted in the service. With what persistence
of the enemy. Upon regaining possession of the road it would be possible
to replace the missing material. Sherman charges that a block of buildings
in Jackson was destroyed by Johnson upon his evacuation of that town in
May, 1863.
1 Official Records, Series III. Vol. 4, Serial No. 125, p, 1270.
2 Report of Secretary of War.
8 For the strength and organizations of these regiments see Official Rec-
ords, Series IV. Vol. 2, pp. 929-936.
* Vicksburg Journal, Aug. 11, 1865.
6 Gen. S. D. Lee, in Riley's History of Miss., p. 260.
20 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
the invasion of the Union army was contested may be inferred
from the fact that more than 25,000 of the enemy lie buried
to-day on Mississippi soil.1
Of the higher military officers of the Confederacy, Missis-
sippi furnished a smaller proportion than some of the other
states. Of the 8 full Confederate generals and 16 lieutenant
generals, she furnished none. Of the 63 major generals,
she furnished 5.2 Of the 291 brigadier generals, she fur-
nished 29. 3
The martial spirit, so general at the outbreak of hostilities,
to a considerable extent wore away as the war progressed,
and voluntary enlistments became the exception. It was
necessary, therefore, to bring the power of the state and
Confederate governments to bear upon the indifferent indi-
vidual who was capable of bearing arms, but who was not
disposed to do so. Not until the territory of the state became
the actual theatre of hostilities, however, was this power
prominently called into requisition. On December 20, 1862,
the governor recommended that the entire white male popu-
lation between the ages of sixteen and sixty be enrolled in
the state militia; that local officers be required to aid the
military to enroll, and, if necessary, to arrest conscripts and
send them to the proper camps. He recommended, further-
more, that every citizen convicted of evading or refusing to
perform military service be disfranchised, required to leave
the state, or be hired out, as such persons were " not fit to
associate with brave and loyal men who return with honor-
able scars."4 The legislature took up the recommendation,
and enacted that all white males between the ages of eighteen
and fifty were liable to militia service in the state, and that
1 Report of Inspector of Nat. Cemeteries, Ex. Docs. No. 62, 41st Cong.
2d Ses. p. 57. They are buried at the following places : —
Natchez cemetery .... 2,994
Vicksburg cemetery .... 17,052
Corinth cemetery . . . . 5,671
Total 25,717
The names of 20,000 of these are unknown.
2 They were S. G. French, W. T. Martin, Earl Van Dorn, E. C. Walthall,
and W. H. C. Whiting. Martin is the only survivor.
8 They were Wirt Adams, J. L. Alcorn, W. E. Baldwin, W. L. Brandon,
S. Benton, W. F. Brantly, William Barksdale, Charles Clarke, D. H. Cooper,
J. R. Chalmers, J. R. Davis, J. W. Frazer, S. J. Gholson, J. Z. George, S. W.
Ferguson,* W. S. Featherston, B. G. Humphreys, Richard Griffeth, N. H.
Harris, Robert Lowry,* M. P. Lowrey, Carnot Posey, C. W. Sears, P. B.
Stark, J. A. Smith,* J. H. Sharp,* Evander McNair,* W. R. Miles,* and
W. F. Tucker. Those indicated by a star are survivors. Barksdale, Griffith,
Posey, and Whiting were killed in battle.
* Official Records, Series IV. Vol. 2, p. 250.
WAGING WAR 21
all such persons between the ages of eighteen and forty, or
such other persons as might be called for by the Confederate
government as conscripts then in the military service of Mis-
sissippi, be placed in camps of instruction. It was made the
duty of all military officers to arrest deserters and deliver
them to the nearest provost marshal.1 This legislation was
supplemented by a proclamation of the governor calling upon
the people of the state to form companies for resisting the
invasion. They were requested to meet, organize into com-
panies of not less than twenty, and apply for a mustering
officer who would be sent to muster them in. They were
admonished, moreover, that it was a "burning disgrace " that
while their sons and kindred were bravely fighting on other
fields, the state was being successfully invaded, and the
women subjected to insult and injury. " Let every man,"
the governor continued, " make it his business to lay all else
aside and assist in organizing as many companies as possible
in each county. By this course you will enable our arms
in a short time to repel the invaders, secure the safety of
your homes, and shed imperishable honor on your cause.
Let no man forego the proud distinction of being one of his
country's defenders, or he must hereafter wear the disgrace-
ful badge of the dastardly traitor who refused to defend his
home and country."2 This proclamation was published two
weeks before the capture of Jackson. On the 3d of November
following, the governor sent in a message to the legislature
reciting that cavalry raids were destroying the property of
the country as well as the confidence of the people in the
ultimate success of their cause — an element very essential,
he said, to the successful termination of the contest. Again
he recommended that every free white male between the
ages of sixteen and sixty be included in the militia organi-
zation, and that such of these as were not called into actual
service be organized for local defence against Federal raids
or used for a police force.3 Again the legislature came to
his aid, and enacted that all persons between the ages of
seventeen and fifty years, including those exempted. or dis-
charged from the Confederate service, as well as those who
had substitutes, should be organized for the militia service
as the governor might direct. The governor was empowered
to offer a bounty of $50 for each enlisted person, and
1 Act of Jan. 3, 1863 ; Laws, p. 67.
2 The proclamation is printed in the New York Herald of May 22, 1863.
» Official Records, Series IV. Vol. 2, pp. 921-927.
22 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
to establish courts martial to try deserters.1 As another
inducement, the state undertook to guarantee to every sol-
dier the value of his horse or gun when lost, if not due to
his own negligence.2 The legislature, furthermore, pledged
the faith of the state that so long as it had any means their
families should not be allowed to suffer during their absence
in the service.
In August of the following year the governor was author-
ized to call upon every able-bodied man in the state to assist
in repelling invasion at such place as he might direct.
About the same time General Forrest issued a spirited call
to all citizens between the ages of fifteen and sixty-five to
" rally to his support," the old men and the boys to take care
of the horses, while the soldiers did the fighting. He was by
another act authorized to " order " into the militia service for
a period not exceeding thirty days all free white males be-
tween the ages of sixteen and fifty-five, including all persons
exempted from the Confederate service, with certain excep-
tions. They were to be held for police duty, but in case of
invasion might be called into active service.3 In pursuance
of these acts the governor issued the usual proclamations.
In the first one he recited that the enemy in large numbers
were invading the state, and those capable of bearing arms
were requested to assemble at Grenada, Okalona, or Macon.
He appealed to them to come by companies, squads, or indi-
viduals. He informed the Secretary of War that he would
probably be able to get four or five thousand men under this
call.4 The other proclamation reminded the people that all
previous exemptions and details were revoked, and that those
who failed to respond would be arrested, tried by court martial,
and forced into the military service for one year. Of the lat-
ter act the Jackson Clarion said : " Those who have by artful
dodges and artifices kept out of the army cannot lay the flat-
tering unction to their souls that they will escape this time.
They must respond now, or hide forever from the gaze of
brave men and enduring women, and, indeed, from the light
of day itself. Numerous individuals who have hitherto kept
out of the service, as blacksmiths, etc., should be hunted up
and ferreted out, together with those who are hiding in the
woods." An anonymous writer for the New Orleans Times,
in a communication from Pike County, declared that Gov-
ernor Clarke had at last completely " subjugated " the state.
1 Laws, 1863, p. 105. 3 Act of Aug. 13, 1864.
2 Ibid. p. 123. * Official Records, Series IV. Vol. 3, p. 590.
WAGING WAR 23
" It is," the writer said, " a melancholy spectacle to see the
old gray-haired men dragged out to the field, leaving a house
full of little ones unprovided for."1 It was certainly not a
much less melancholy spectacle to see boys of sixteen dragged
from their homes or the schools, and compelled to undergo
the hardships of a service which was more than the average
veteran could endure with comfort.
To enforce such laws it was necessary to maintain a small
army of conscript officers. The law made it the duty of
sheriffs to enroll conscripted persons, to arrest stragglers and
deserters, to be " vigilant and active " in the detection, pur-
suit, and capture of such persons, to examine the leaves of
absence and furloughs of all men absent from the army, and
to see that they returned at the expiration of their furloughs.
It was made the duty of all county and local officers to give
the sheriff notice of stragglers and deserters. For every such
person arrested and delivered up the sheriff was entitled
to receive the sum of $5.2 There were few complaints
of desertions until the latter part of the year 1863. The
occupation of a large part of the state by the Union armies
induced many to lose faith in the ultimate success of the
Confederate cause. Moreover, the great hardships and priva-
tions of military service increased after 1863 to such an
extent that many who would otherwise have held out, aban-
doned the army and lay out in the woods or swamps.3 Gov-
ernor Clarke, in his inaugural address of November 16, 1863,
paid his respects to the "no inconsiderable numbers who
were evading military duty." To compel them to enlist he
invoked the voice of an outraged public opinion. It is of
course impossible to tell with any reasonable degree of accu-
racy how many were evading military service. It was said
in January, 1864, that there were 92,016 white males in the
state between the ages of sixteen and sixty, and only 66,982
on the muster rolls, leaving 36,034 who for some reason or
other were not in the military service.4 One of the con-
script officials informed a Confederate Senator on December
29, 1864, that in his opinion there were not less than 7000
deserters in Mississippi. "I believe," he said, "that there
are at this day in Mississippi alone a sufficient number of
1 Quoted in Richmond Examiner of Nov. 14, 1864.
2 Act of Jan. 3, 1863 ; Laws, p. 89.
3 E. S. Dargan informed the Confederate Secretary of War, on March 4,
1864, that "public sentiment was much depressed" in Mississippi, and that
many avoided service and even threatened to resist the authorities of the
government. Official Records, Series I. Vol. 52, pt. ii. p. 63o.
4 Official Records, Series IV. Vol. 3, p. 103.
24 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
skulkers, deserters, idle officers, improper details, and useless
exempts to give victory to any army." In his opinion the
conscript department was a farce, and the officers ought to be
in the field. During the previous five months he said only
235 men had been enlisted, and if the desertions from these
enlistments were in proportion to those from the camps of
instruction, not enough ever reached the army to form a com-
pany. He cited an instance in which 537 men were con-
scripted, and 302 of them deserted before leaving the state.1
The reports of the Confederate Secretary of War show that
from February, 1864, to February, 1865, 2031 deserters were
returned to the army from Mississippi.2 As a sort of last
resort the governor, in November, 1864, issued a proclamation
promising a general amnesty to all deserters and absentees
who would forthwith report for duty. They were requested
to report to the sheriff or other civil officer, and the people
were advised to inform those interested.3 The Confederate
conscript officers seem to have had more success in apprehend-
ing deserters than did the state officers. Generals Forrest and
Pillow made it exceedingly uncomfortable for such persons
so long as they were in command in Mississippi. Of Gen-
eral Pillow's accomplishments a newspaper said: "General
Pillow has during the months of September and October, 1863,
returned from Alabama and Mississippi 26,000 infantry and
cavalry. If the whole of the Confederacy could be placed
under an administration of conscription distinguished by the
vigilance, energy, and intelligence which seem to govern the
district of Mississippi and Alabama, we should have no occa-
sion to fear for the strength of our armies in the field or the
success of our cause." 4 The legislature voted Forrest a sword
and adopted a resolution of thanks, " hailing with delight " his
avowed purpose, as expressed in a public address, of returning
all stragglers and deserters to the army.
With the approach of the spring of 1865, the number of
deserters became so large that Forrest was able to refer to
1 Letter of H. W. Walter to J. W. C. Watson, Official Records, Series IV.
Vol. 3, p. 976.
2 Official Records, ibid. p. 1109.
8 Richmond Whiff, Nov. 14, 1864.
4 Richmond Sentinel, Dec. 22, 1863. The desertions from the Confed-
erate army do not seem to have been as great in proportion as those from
the Union army. The United States Secretary of War in his report of Nov. 8,
1865, p. 81, says the number of deserters since liis last report was 18,120. It
appears also from the appendix to the same report, p. 29, that the number of
deserters in Illinois from March, 1863, to March, 1866, was 5805. The large
number of desertions was due to a considerable extent to the leniency of the
government in punishing them.
WAGING WAR 25
them as " roving bands of deserters, stragglers, horse-thieves,
and robbers, who consume the substance, and appropriate
the property of the citizens."1 In March, 1864, a conscript
officer informed the Confederate Secretary of War, that there
seemed to be more deserters in Choctaw County than anywhere
else. He estimated the number at five hundred, one-half of
whom were armed and in organized bands.2 February 1, 1865,
a prominent citizen of Holly Springs wrote that large numbers
of deserters infested the country, robbing friend and foe
alike, making the condition of its citizens truly pitiable.3
About the same time, the governor proposed to General Tay-
lor to call out the militia for thirty days to apprehend de-
serters,* whereupon Taylor urged him to call out also the
old men and the boys for police purposes at home.6 By an
act of March 9 the governor was authorized to employ the
militia for the purposes mentioned in his proposition to Gen-
eral Taylor.6 Many of those who evaded military service
took up their abode in the swamps of Pearl River, generally
on Honey Island. This place became notorious as a nest of
thieves and robbers.7 It is alleged that public sentiment in
Jones County, in the southeastern part of the state, was so
opposed to the war that the county formally seceded from
the Confederacy, and organized a government in opposition
thereto. For a while the power of the Confederacy was
expelled from the community, and Confederate wagon-trains
are alleged to have been plundered by the adherents of the
new power. A military force was despatched to the scene of
the troubles, and the power of the Confederacy reestablished.8
1 Official Records, Series I. Vol. 49, Serial No. 103, p. 931.
2 Ibid. Vol. 52, pt. ii. p. 791.
8 Ibid. p. 950.
* Ibid. 939.
6 Ibid. 941.
« Laws, 1865, p. 23.
7 Honey Island is the scene of the events portrayed in Mr. Maurice Thomp-
son's late novel, The King of Honey Island.
8 For the alleged secession of Jones County from the Confederacy, see
Magazine of American History, Vol. 16, p. 38. A recent writer in the pub-
lications of the Mississippi Historical Society asserts that there is no historical
foundation for the story. There is unmistakable evidence of considerable
opposition among the inhabitants to Confederate service, but on the other hand
the story that an independent republic was established is a myth. In 1865
115 inhabitants of the county joined in a memorial to the legislature, praying
that inasmuch as Jones County had become " notorious, if not infamous," in
the annals of the Confederacy, its name might be changed and so " completely
sunk out of sight that the hand of time might never resurrect it." Its name
was accordingly changed to Davis, but the reconstructionists would have none
of it, and restored its old name, by which it is known at the present time.
See House Journal, 1865, p. 361.
26 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
In the enforcement of the conscript measures the state and
Confederate governments sometimes came into conflict. On
the 4th of March, 1864, Governor Clarke wrote to Mr. Sed-
don, the Confederate Secretary of War, complaining that jus-
tices of the peace and other civil officers, exempt under his
proclamation, were being forced into the Confederate service.
He therefore "demanded" their discharge.1 On the 5th of
April the legislature adopted a resolution protesting against
the action of the Confederate government in thus conscript-
ing the civil officers of the state. Finally, the legislature
adopted a resolution by which it was agreed that the state
would waive her rights in the premises as to all officers,
members, and agents not named in the constitution, and not
necessary to the preservation of " our form of government."2
A question involving the paramount authority of the Con-
federate government came before the courts in 1864. A man
who had been conscripted under state authority and by a state
official for militia service in the state, was seized by a Con-
federate conscript officer and forced into the Confederate
service. Which government was supreme would have been
a question for the Confederate Supreme Court, had there
been such a tribunal. He appealed to the Supreme Court of
Mississippi. Although its functions had practically been sus-
pended during the war, it took cognizance of the case, and
decided that the claims of the Confederate government should
have the preference.3
It was a special complaint of Governor Clarke that the Con-
federate government would not indemnify state troops for the
loss of their horses, bridles, and saddles.4 At another time he
complained that the Confederate government impressed every-
thing within its reach, and monopolized all the manufactur-
ing establishments so that he could not even procure a blanket
for the state troops.6
There is little doubt that in the enforcement of the almost
merciless policy of conscription many persons not liable to
military service were forced into the army. On one occasion
two hundred soldiers in Mississippi united in a petition to
President Davis declaring that they were not liable as con-
scripts, and that unless they were allowed to return home
their families would be reduced to starvation.6 In April,
1 Official Records, Series IV. Vol. 3, p. 446.
2 Resolution of Aug. 13, 1864.
8 Simmons vs. Miller.
4 Official Records, Series IV. Vol. 2, Serial No. 128, p. 300.
6 Ibid. Series I. Vol. 52, pt. ii. p. 635.
6 Ibid. p. 453.
WAGING WAR 27
1865, the legislature passed resolutions of censure against the
Confederate Congress in conferring upon President Davis
the power " to appoint military tribunals responsible only to
him." The act was denounced as dangerous to the liberties
of the citizen, and unconstitutional.1 Its purpose was to
increase the efficiency of the conscript service.
It remains to notice briefly the policy of the state toward
the alien class domiciled within its limits, and toward the
slave class. In a message to the legislature June 25, 1861,
Governor Pettus suggested that as a " means of retaliation
on a people who are raising armies to subjugate us," whether
it would not be expedient and just to confiscate all the prop-
erty of alien enemies within the state. It does not appear
from the statutes, however, that the legislature ever took any
action on the subject. But as the need for recruits increased,
a sentiment developed in favor of pressing aliens into the ser-
vice. Accordingly, in December, 1863, the legislature passed
a law requiring all aliens between the ages of eighteen and
forty-five to leave the state or volunteer in the Confederate
service by the first of March following. The pretext for
the act was that they were engaged in illegal trade with the
enemy, and were guilty of extortion in dealing with the
citizens.2
The policy of the Federal authorities in enlisting negroes
of military age as they came into the lines, led President
Davis to issue an order to his commanders in Mississippi to
remove the slaves upon the approach of the enemy, to locali-
ties where they would not be in danger of being conscripted.
Accordingly, the owners of slaves spirited them away to
Texas or Alabama, where the Union armies had not yet
penetrated. The result of the order was very different from
what was expected. As soon as the Confederate command-
ers began to seize the negro men and transport them, they
went over in great numbers to the lines of the Union army.
In a message to the legislature November 21, 1863, the gov-
ernor protested against Davis's order as "disastrous to the
country " and calculated to " drive " the slaves into the hands
of the enemy.3 Upon his recommendation the legislature
adopted a joint resolution requesting the governor to protect
the people against the illegal impressment of slaves and
other property by Confederate officers or pseudo officers, the
effect of which was causing the slaves to go over to the
enemy.4
1 Resolution of April 5, 1864. « New York Times, Dec. 4, 1864.
2 Laws of 1863, p. 152. * Resolutions of Nov. 20, 1863.
28 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
The successful employment of negro soldiers by the enemy
aroused a sentiment in favor of the experiment in the Con-
federate army. Early in 1863 the governor was authorized
by an act of the legislature to impress all male slaves be-
tween the ages of eighteen and fifty, together with tools,
implements, wagons, teams, horses, timber, lumber, arms,
ammunition, ordnance stores, etc., " for the purpose of repel-
ling invasion and suppressing insurrection." The owners were
to be allowed the same pay for each slave as the pay of an
ordinary private soldier. The governor was authorized to
furnish the Confederate commanders in the state with such
number of slaves as might be necessary to give greater effi-
ciency to the operations. The owner of thirty slaves im-
pressed was allowed to send along an overseer to look after
their health and general welfare. Provision was also made
for indemnifying the owner of slaves killed while in the ser-
vice.1 With the approach of the year 1865 a sentiment
developed in favor of actually enlisting the slaves as regular
soldiers, and a few weeks before the collapse of the Confeder-
acy, Congress authorized the President in his discretion, if he
deemed it necessary to prosecute the war successfully, and
maintain the sovereignty and independence of the Southern
states, to call upon each state for its quota of three hundred
thousand troops in addition to " those subject to military ser-
vice under existing laws," to be raised from the whole popu-
lation, irrespective of color. None were recruited under the
act in Mississippi.
Occasional acts appear in the statutes of the time author-
izing owners to emancipate certain slaves for faithful attend-
ance upon their masters while in the army. The presence of
free negroes seems to have been tolerated so long as their
conduct was satisfactory to the Confederate authorities.2
1 Laws of 1863, p. 84.
2 The only record accessible to the author, relative to the policy of the
state authorities toward free negroes in Mississippi, is an act of the legisla-
ture passed in 1861 authorizing the board of police in Pike County to issue
licenses to such persons in their discretion to remain in the county. The act
made it the duty of the sheriff to sell into slavery any free negro found, after
the first of March following, without a license. Laws of 1861, p. 144.
PKOBLEMS OF MILITARY OCCUPATION 29
III. PROBLEMS OF MILITARY OCCUPATION
Growing out of the occupation of the territory of the
state by the military forces of the United States was the ques-
tion of defining and establishing the relations that should
exist between the conquerors and the conquered during the
period of the occupation. Although the greater portion of
the state was at one time or another occupied by the military
forces of the enemy, a comparatively small portion of it was
permanently held and governed. Thus the towns of Corinth
and Holly Springs in the northern part, and Vicksburg and
Natchez in the southwestern part, seem to have been almost
the only places of importance where the administration of
the local government was under the control of the military
authorities for any length of time. It may be stated in gen-
eral terms that wherever the army occupied and governed
a district of territory the private law as it was found was not
disturbed. Only the public law relations of the inhabitants
were changed. The administration was sometimes modified
by the removal of the civil officers, and the detail of military
officials to perform their duties.
One of the knotty problems which the military commanders
had to solve in the administration of the occupied territory,
was the establishment of a code for the regulation of matters
of trade and intercourse between the parts of territory under
the control of the United States and those parts under the
jurisdiction of the Confederacy. The difficulty arose from
the necessity of procuring supplies for the use of the axmy
and the destitute class, and at the same time of preventing
supplies from falling into the hands of the enemy to be used
for military purposes. There was a popular sentiment at the
time that " trade follows the flag," and that the occupation
of a given section of country ought to be accompanied by an
immediate removal of all restrictions on trade and commerce.
Grant saw the practical objection to the theory and protested
against its application in the case of the territory under his
control, but Secretary Chase and others fell in with the
popular movement, and for a time the commander in Missis-
sippi was considerably hampered in dealing with this difficult
question.1 It was the general's opinion that "any trade
i Badeau's Grant, I. p. 411 ; Shucker's Chase, p. 322.
30 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
whatever " with the Confederacy would reduce the military
strength of the United States at least 33 per cent. "No
matter what restrictions," he said, "maybe thrown around
trade, it will be made a means of supplying the enemy
with what they want.1 In 1862, while still in north Missis-
sippi, he issued regulations for the government of persons
engaging in trade. The purchase of cotton or other produce
at any military post was confined to those who had special
permission, and it was made an act of disloyalty to go beyond
the lines to make purchases. The railroads were of course
controlled by the military authorities, and freight agents were
required to make daily reports of their shipments. Licenses
were granted to loyal persons at all military posts to sell
articles of necessity, in small quantities, to those only who
were willing to take the oath of allegiance to the United
States.2 The purpose of this latter requirement was to aid
in building up the nucleus of a Union party in the state.
Grant's whole policy, in fact, was to encourage the inhabit-
ants to return to their allegiance. It is shown in his orders
and instructions to the division commanders and in his private
correspondence. The policy was not entirely without results,
as will be seen later.
From time to time the regulations established for north
Mississippi were modified as experience or circumstances
dictated. Thus, supply stores were authorized, the names
and addresses of purchasers were registered, together with
the date and amount of sale, and buyers were compelled
to make oath that the articles purchased were for their own
use. The occupation of Vicksburg, together with the banks
of the Mississippi River above and below the city, made
more elaborate regulations necessary. Thus, rules were
established for the government of express companies, requir-
ing them to transmit packages in a certain manner, and
strictly according to military orders.3 Similarly, rules for
the regulation of the postal service, which was declared to
be established exclusively for the benefit of the military
authorities, were prescribed and enforced. Mails were
required to be made up at military headquarters and sent
to the post office by army officers, and no letters were trans-
mitted except those coming from designated military authori-
ties.4 The great influx of speculators after the fall of
1 Badeau's Grant, I. p. 411.
2 Official Records, Series I. Vol. 52, pt. i. p. 303 ; see also New York
World, Jan. 9, 1863.
3 New York Times, Aug. 30, 1863. * Ibid.
PROBLEMS OF MILITARY OCCUPATION 31
Vicksburg complicated matters, and for a while seriously
embarrassed the military authorities in their efforts to per-
mit only legitimate trade. The source of the trouble was
the phenomenal rise in the price of cotton. This article
could be stolen or bought for a nominal price and sold for
fifty or seventy-five cents per pound. The effect was demor-
alizing, and officers of high rank in the army were known
to neglect their duties to engage in the traffic. Quarter-
master's teams were employed in hauling cotton to the
river ; soldiers were deprived of their rations, and hospitals
of their supplies, because the wagons were being used for
another purpose. Great scandals to the military service
resulted from this practice, and finally the treasury depart-
ment consented to leave the whole matter in the hands
of Grant. He declared that many fortunes were made by
men, all of whom were dishonest.1 The surreptitious traffic
thus carried on, from first to last was estimated to have
aggregated at least $200,000, OOO.2 A considerable number of
these speculators seem to have been Jews from Cincinnati.
Grant finally lost his patience and issued an order expelling
all Jews in the department, and commanding them to depart
within twenty-four hours. On account of its discriminating
character the President rescinded the order. On the 22d of
September, 1863, Grant laid down the law to the cotton
speculators in " General Orders, No. 57." In plain terms
they were informed that no person speculating in cotton
would be permitted to remain in the department south
of Helena. Actual residents, " well disposed to the govern-
ment of the United States," were permitted to bring into
any military post on the Mississippi River, cotton or other
Southern produce of which they were the bona fide owners ;
and with special permission of the military authorities might
ship the same to Memphis or New Orleans for sale. All
cotton belonging to persons in arms against the United
States was to be seized for the benefit of the government.3
By another order, which does not seem to have been taken
seriously, " permission " was granted to all persons to bring
their cotton to the nearest military post, and voluntarily
1 Quoted in Reed's Vicksburg Campaign, p. 148. Jan. 27, 1864, Sherman
writes to a brigadier general at Vicksburg : " Encourage good laboring men,
but give the cold shoulder to greedy speculators and drones. The moment
they accumulate so as to trouble you, conscript them." Official Records,
Series I. Vol. 32, Serial No. 58, p. 239.
2 Shucker's Life of Chase, p. 323.
8 New York Times, Oct. 4, 1863.
32 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
"abandon" it to the United States treasury agent, and in
case they were able to prove to the satisfaction of the military
authorities that they were, and ever had been, loyal to the
government of the United States, they would be paid for it
at the end of the war. A Memphis correspondent of the
New York World wished to know if a single citizen of Missis-
sippi had ever voluntarily surrendered a bale of cotton, or
received a cent for it.1 The probability is that no one
ever did. The speculators that swarmed into Mississippi
with the army by no means confined their transactions to
dealings in cotton, but seem to have controlled to some
extent the supply of the necessities of life. The evil became
so flagrant that in August, 1864, an order was issued by
General Dana fixing the maximum price of flour in the
territory under his jurisdiction at $16 per barrel, pork at $57
per barrel, ham at forty-three cents per pound, bacon at
thirty-three cents, soap at fifteen cents, and salt at $4 per
bushel. The rule applied to all merchants and traders, as
well as to the class known as speculators, and heavy penal-
ties were imposed for its violation.2
Another problem which the exigencies of the war forced
upon the military commanders related to the disposition of
property which, as the result of successful invasion, had
passed into their possession. While Grant was in north
Mississippi he was directed by President Lincoln to seize
and use any property which, in his opinion, would contribute
to the success of the army, and to destroy such as appeared
to be a military necessity, with the restriction that none
should be destroyed in "wantonness or malice."3 It was
also made the duty of the military commanders to seize and
apply to the support of the United States army, the property
(a) of any officer in the army or navy of the Confederacy; (6) of
any president, vice-president, member of congress, judicial or
cabinet officer under the Confederate government ; (c) of any
insurrectionary state governor, member of the legislature or
convention, or any judge of a state in secession ; (d) of any
officer in the Confederate service who had formerly held
an office under the United States ; (e) and of any person in a
loyal state who had given aid, assistance, or comfort to those
in arms against the United States.4 The property compre-
hended under these five heads belonged to the class which
1 New York World, Sept. 14, 1863.
2 New York Herald, Sept. 2, 1864.
8 Official Records, Series III. Vol. 3, Serial No. 124, p. 397.
* Act of July 17, 1862.
PROBLEMS OF MILITARY OCCUPATION 33
the government confiscated for its own use. Beside this class,
was that included under the term captured property, such,
for example, as Confederate cotton, stores, and military ord-
nance; and abandoned property, or that "deserted" by the
owners who fled before the approach of the army, or who
were voluntarily absent therefrom, and engaged either in
arms or otherwise in aiding or encouraging the Confederate
cause.1 Most of the property included under the latter class
was returned to the owners shortly after the termination of
hostilities. Grant defined his policy with regard to the pri-
vate property of non-combatants in an order issued from
Vicksburg, August 1, 1863, in which he announced that such
property would be "respected" unless it was found to be
necessary for the use of the government, in which case it
would be taken under direction of a corps commander, and
be paid for at the end of the war upon satisfactory proof of
loyalty. Sherman used less circumlocution in defining his
policy toward the non-combatants. When a committee of the
citizens of Warren County drew up a petition and presented it
to him, reciting that their property had been unnecessarily
destroyed or carried away by the soldiers, that their slaves
had been enticed away from the plantations, and that the
people were in a destitute condition and needed relief, he
replied, cheerfully acknowledging the right of the citizens
to meet and petition for redress, and the corresponding right
of the military commander to protect them, but he said he
knew of no nation that had attempted to feed and provide
for the inhabitants of an insurgent district. " On account
of firing on the steamboats," he said, " and the long and
desperate resistance to the army, we are justified in treating
all the inhabitants as combatants, and would be perfectly
justified in transporting you all beyond the seas if the United
States deemed it expedient." He told them that the people
of Warren County had not assisted the government much,
and were not, therefore, entitled to much protection, and his
future policy would depend upon their conduct. In regard
to the negro question his reply was anything but consoling.
The United States, he said, had succeeded by right of war
to the title hitherto held by the master, and in due season
the slaves would be hired out, employed by the government,
or removed to the camps where they could be conveniently
fed, but in the meantime no one must molest them, or inter-
1 Regulations Concerning Abandoned, Captured, and Confiscable Property,
No. 3.
34 KECOXSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
fere with the agents of the United States. In reply to the
request that he detail slaves from the freedmen's camps to act
as servants for those who had lost their servants, he said, " You
must do as we do — hire your own servants and pay them."
Relative to the future he said that everything was unsettled,
and that he would not advise any person to plant on an
extensive scale, for no one could see far enough into the
future to tell who might reap what they sowed. However,
he advised them to remain at home, put their houses and
grounds in order, and resume their former employments as far
as they were permitted to do so. Proceeding on the theory
that the government under which they lived was illegal, he
said : " You must establish a government before you can
have property. Of course we think our government (which
is still yours) is the best and easiest to put into operation
here." After advising them to take steps to establish a
loyal government and secure representation in Congress, he
added, " But General Grant, nor I, nor anybody else, can
give you any assurance or guarantees. The commander in
war is the judge, and he may take your house and your fields,
and turn you out helpless to starve. It may be wrong, but
that does not alter the matter. It is our duty to destroy,
not to build up ; therefore do not look to us to help you.
Come out boldly and assert that the government of the
United States is the only power on earth that can insure to
the inhabitants protection to life, liberty, and property.
You will then have some reason to ask of us protection and
assistance, and not until then."1
Other inducements were held out to the inhabitants of
conquered districts to resume their allegiance. Thus after
the fall of Vicksburg it was ordered that inasmuch as all
Confederate soldiers had been driven out of that part of the
state west of the New Orleans, Jackson, and Great Northern
railroad which runs through the central part of the state
from north to south, and as it was " to the interest of the
citizens not to have armed bodies of men among them," the
most rigorous penalties would be inflicted upon all irregular
bodies of cavalry not mustered and paid by the Confederate
authorities. Moreover, all persons engaged in conscripting,
enforcing the conscription acts, or apprehending deserters,
whether regular or irregular, all citizens giving them en-
couragement, and all persons firing upon United States
transports, would be subjected to the same penalties.2 The
1 This letter is printed in the Ntio York Times of Jan. 17, 1864.
2 Gen. Orders, No. 60, New York Times, Aug. 30, 1863.
PROBLEMS OF MILITARY OCCUPATION 35
purpose of the order was to rid the country of the bands of
deserters, stragglers, and guerillas who plundered the in-
habitants, and at the same time leave the people free from
Confederate influence, to develop a Union sentiment and
return to their old allegiance, in case there was a desire to
do so.
During the period of occupation it devolved upon the
military authorities in some instances to assume the adminis-
tration of the municipal governments within the territory
occupied. To meet the necessary expenses it was customary
to impose taxes on property and traffic. In Natchez the
mayor was removed and the administration placed under
the supervision of a provost marshal, who governed accord-
ing to martial law. The city fund was turned over to the
military authorities, wharf regulations were established by
the general commanding, a commission for the trial of civil
cases was instituted, permits were issued to citizens for a
variety of purposes, and police duty was performed by the
provost guard.1 Loyal persons in Adams, Claiborne, and
Jefferson counties were allowed to bring to the town for sale
live stock, provisions, fuel, etc., for the use of the inhabit-
ants, and to carry away small quantities of supplies, not ex-
ceeding the amount brought in. Persons engaging in the
traffic were required to exhibit their oaths of allegiance at
the lines.2 The boundaries of the city, as a military admin-
istrative district, were extended so as to include the f reed-
men's camps and the plantations leased by the government.
Beyond these lines no supplies could be sent except in accord
with military regulations.8
One incident in the administration of the government by
the military authorities may be cited as an illustration of its
absolute character. This was a case of interference with the
freedom of worship. After the occupation of Vicksburg by
the military forces of the United States, the congregation of
the Episcopal church practically ceased to attend service, on
account of the action of the minister in offering prayer for
the President of the United States. Upon the announcement
that an old and highly respected minister would conduct the
services on Christmas Day with the omission of the prayer
for the President, a large congregation, among whom were
a number of Union soldiers and officers, filled the church.
Under fear of arrest by the military authorities, the timid
1 Official Records, Series I. Vol. 48, Serial No. 101, p. 563.
2 Hid. Serial No. 102, p. 283.
» Ibid. Serial No. 101, p. 632.
36 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
pastor broke his promise and read the prayer according to
the prescribed form of the Episcopal ritual, whereupon a
young lady quietly arose and left the church. She was soon
followed by three or four others. In the afternoon they
were waited upon by the provost marshal and informed that
they had incurred the displeasure of the commanding gen-
eral, and must leave the city at once. Shortly thereafter
copies of the following order were sent to the young ladies,
and placarded at different places throughout the city : —
HEADQUARTERS 17-m ARMY CORPS, PROVOST MARSHAL'S OFFICE,
VICKSBURG, Miss., Dec. 27, 1863.
The following named persons . . . having acted disrespect-
fully towards the President and government of the United States,
and having insulted the officers, soldiers, and loyal citizens of the
United States who had assembled in the Episcopal church on
Christmas Day, by abruptly leaving the church at that point in
the services where the minister prays for the welfare of the
President and all others in authority, are hereby banished, and
will leave the Federal lines within forty-eight hours, under pen-
alty of imprisonment.
By order of
MAJOR GENERAL McPHERsoN.1
This was followed shortly thereafter by the following
special order : —
The parties ordered to proceed outside the Federal lines will
report at the railroad depot to-morrow at 10 o'clock. They will
be permitted to take their private baggage, and conveyance will be
in readiness at Big Black Bridge with a flag of truce to take them
to the Confederate lines, or so far as the flag may be permitted to
proceed.
By order of
MAJOR GENERAL MCPHERSON,
JAMES WILSON, LIEUT. COL., PROVOST MARSHAL.
The commanding general refused to extend the time to
enable them to complete their preparations, but consented to
allow the mother of one of the young ladies to accompany
them. At the appointed time and place they " embarked in
the presence of hundreds of Federal soldiers," and passed
into the jurisdiction of the Confederacy.2 The interference
1 The order of banishment is printed in the New York Evening Express
of Jan. 23, 1864.
2 This order is printed in the New York Daily News of Feb. 2, 1864.
PROBLEMS OF MILITARY OCCUPATION 37
with the freedom of worship did not end with the banish-
ment of the young ladies, for shortly thereafter the com-
manding general issued an order reciting that he had received
notice that the p&stors of "many" churches neglected to
make any public recognition of allegiance to the government
under which they lived, and to which they were indebted for
protection, and omitted to offer prayer for the President.
It was accordingly ordered that thereafter the ministers of
such churches as had prescribed forms of prayer should read
the same at each and every service, and other denominations,
which had no such form of prayer, should on like occasions
" pronounce a prayer appropriate to the times, and expressive
of a proper spirit toward the chief magistrate of the United
States." It was ordered that any minister who failed to do
this should be immediately prohibited from exercising the
functions of his office, and would render himself liable to be
sent beyond the lines of the United States at the discretion
of the general commanding. The provost marshal was
charged with the execution of the order.1 This order would
have been regarded as rather a sacrilegious jest had not the
commanding general proceeded to enforce it in the true
Jacksonian spirit. The Right Reverend William Henry
Elder, the bishop of Natchez, refused to read the prayer for
the President, and on the 18th of June, 1864, was banished
from the city and sent to the Confederate lines. After the
expiration of about two months he was allowed to return
and "pray for whom he pleased." At the same time the
order making prayer for the President compulsory was
"suspended until further orders." Henceforth all persons
conducting divine worship were left " at liberty to manifest
such measures of hostility as they may feel against the
government and union of these states and their sympathy
with the rebellion by omitting such supplications if they are
so minded."2 And henceforth, it may be added, the attempt
to compel the adherents of one belligerent to pray for the
success of the other was abandoned as an unprofitable if not
an impossible task. Thereafter prayers for the President
were given or withheld as the bishop directed. In July,
1865, he ordered that further prayers for the President be
omitted until all troops should be removed from the state.3
There was no general interference with the press, although
1 The order is printed in the New York World of July 12, 1864.
2 The orders of banishment and recall are printed in tha New York Her-
ald of Sept. 6, 1864.
8 See his letter to the clergy in the New York Herald, Aug. 3, 1865.
38 KECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
occasionally an editor was arrested for uttering " disloyal "
sentiments.1
The degree of subjection under which the local civil gov-
ernments were placed by the military power varied in differ-
ent localities, and depended upon circumstances. It was
very nearly absolute in Vicksburg and Natchez, while in
northeast Mississippi, where there was more or less Union
sentiment, the interference of the military authorities was
nominal. Thus in Tishomingo County the local govern-
ment remained intact throughout the period of Federal occu-
pation, the inhabitants pledging themselves to do nothing
in aid of the Confederate cause.2 The running of regular
trains through the county was permitted for the benefit of
the citizens.3
Gradually the rigors of military rule were removed, and
the municipalities left for the most part to govern themselves.
Thus by February, 1864, the judicial district of Natchez had
been reorganized and reestablished. In April, 1865, the
commander had placed the whole matter of civil government
before the leading citizens of loyal persuasion, with the inten-
tion of permitting such a government, so far as it was not
inconsistent with martial law.4
In August, 1865, General Slocum, commander of the
Department of Mississippi issued an order reciting that no
further reason existed for the practice of levying taxes upon
property and trade of municipalities, and that henceforth the
entire charge of municipal affairs should be left to the people,
no taxes of any kind were to be imposed by the military
authorities.5
IV. POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC ACTIVITY DURING THE WAR
Although state activity during the war was chiefly of a
military nature, political functions were not entirely sus-
pended. Both the state and local governments were main-
tained, the official organization being elaborated in some
instances from military necessity, and restricted in others on
1 The editor of the Fayette Chronicle, published in Jefferson County, was
arrested in 1865 for indulging in severe criticism of the military rule to which
he was subjected.
2 Testimony of Robert A. Hill before reconstruction committee, p. 68.
8 Official Records, Series I. Vol. 49, pt. i. p. 612.
4 Ibid. Vol. 48, Serial No. 102, p. 175.
6 New York Herald, Aug. 31, 1865.
POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC ACTIVITY DURING THE WAR 39
account of the suspension to some extent of the business of
civil government. Thus, in the prosecution of the war, it
became necessary to create some new and unusual offices.
For instance, there were, at one time or another, state salt
commissioners, liquor dispensary agents, price commissioners,
a superintendent of army records, etc. In the local govern-
ments there were indigent commissioners, salt commissioners,
etc.
On the other hand, the suspension, to a considerable
extent, of judicial business, made the judiciary, as it existed
prior to the war, unnecessary, while the duties of certain
other civil officers were so nearly nominal that the state was
able to decrease its budget by a reduction of their compensa-
tion.1 This was particularly true of the county probate
judges. The regular appropriations for such institutions as
the state library and the geological survey were discontinued.
Although the state government continued intact from first to
last, it was for a time, like the Continental Congress, a peri-
patetic institution with no permanent place of rest. Upon
the approach of the Union army to Jackson in May, 1863,
the state officials with the public archives fled to Meridian,
in the eastern part of the state, but on account of poor accom-
modations there, the government soon moved to Enterprise,
on the Mobile and Ohio railroad, some forty or fifty miles
below Meridian. Upon the departure from Jackson, the
governor being satisfied that the penitentiary would be
burned, granted pardons to such of the convicts as were
willing to enlist in. the Confederate army, while those who
were " unfriendly " to the Confederate cause, and likely to
join the Union army, were sent to the penitentiary in
Alabama.2 In the autumn of 1863, the state government
moved to Columbus, in the northeastern part of the state,
where it remained until early in 1864. Upon the occupation
of this part of the state, the seat of government was trans-
ferred to Macori in Noxubee County. The Supreme Court
was authorized to meet anywhere in the state to prepare the
cases pending for decision at the regular term, while the state
printer was allowed to keep his office in any part of the state,
and all publications required to be made at the seat of gov-
ernment were to be held valid, no matter where published.
Upon the surrender of General Taylor, the officials with the
1 The members of the legislature received only their actual expenses dur-
ing the February session of 1865.
2 Governor's message to the legislature, Nov. 3, 1863. Official Records,
Series IV. Vol. 2, pp. 921-927.
40 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
archives returned to Jackson, where shortly thereafter the
archives were seized by the military authorities of the United
States. The legislature met regularly during the war, the
session of 1863 being held at Columbus, and those of 1864
and 1865 at Macon. Its measures related almost solely to
the prosecution of the war and the relief of the destitute
women and children.
The functions of the Supreme Court were virtually sus-
pended during the war, although its organization was main-
tained, and a few cases of special importance were heard and
determined. At the April term of 1861 only three cases
were decided ; at the October term, twelve. In 1862 there
were no meetings of the court. At the April term of 1863
two cases were heard. At the October term of 1864 two
cases were heard, and in 1865 none. The functions of the
Confederate District Court appear to have been of even less
importance. The United States district judges, who re-
signed their positions in 1861 to go with their states, were
reappointed by President Davis as Confederate district
judges in their respective districts, with the exception, it
seems, of Mr. Gholson, the United States district judge in
Mississippi. In his place Judge Clayton was appointed, and
although he continued in office throughout the war, it does
not appear that he ever held a court.1 In August, 1864,
President Davis wrote to him .complaining that the military
authorities were not receiving the proper assistance from the
civil power in Mississippi, and he ventured the suggestion
that if frequent sessions of the court were held near the lines
where trading with the enemy and other illegal practices
were common, great benefit would result therefrom. Bran-
don, Jackson, and Canton were suggested as suitable places
for this purpose.2
The functions of the lower courts were to a considerable
extent suspended by an act of the legislature in 1861, which
practically closed them, so far as civil business was concerned.
All actions for debt or for the enforcement of contracts were
suspended until twelve months after the close of the war.
All sales under trust deeds, mortgages, and judgments were
likewise prohibited.3- Whatever may have been the opinion
of the bar as to the constitutionality of such legislation, none
of them ever had the temerity to bring the question to a test.
1 J. A. Orr in Pubs. Southern Hist. Assoc., March, 1900, p. 98. Ex-chief
Justice Campbell informs me that this statement is probably correct.
2 Official Records, Series IV. Vol. 3, p. 598.
8 Laws of 1861, p. 74.
POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC ACTIVITY DURING THE WAR 41
Moreover, it was made unlawful to prosecute suit against
any soldier in actual service.1 These acts practically left
the courts with criminal jurisdiction only, and as a no incon-
siderable number of the criminal cases were settled by the
military authorities, it is reasonable to suppose that the
business of the courts was nominal.
The pressure upon the male population capable of bearing
arms to go into the military service left the civil offices to
be filled to a considerable extent by old men or soldiers dis-
abled by wounds or disease. This was illustrated in the
election of General Clarke to the governorship in 1863.
Occasionally the qualifications for office or the practice of
certain learned professions were made less rigorous, so as
to enable those incapacitated for military service to fill
them. Thus persons over sixty years of age were made
liable to jury service,2 and county clerks who were attorneys
were permitted to practice before the courts.3 Moreover,
the number of civil officers and others exempted from mili-
tary service was time and again reduced, so that in the end
barely enough men were left to hold the offices. Thus all
municipal officers under forty-five years of age were made
liable to conscription. And so were all indigent commis-
sioners, except one in each local district, all liquor dispen-
sary agents under forty-five, all trustees of state institutions,
all road overseers, all deputy sheriffs, except one in each
county, all deputy circuit clerks, all school trustees, and all
other officers appointed by any of the courts.4 Only ordained
pastors with regular charges, and teachers with two years'
experience and with schools attended by at least twenty
scholars, were exempt. An act of the Confederate Congress
authorized the governor to exempt such persons from mili-
tary service as were absolutely necessary to administer the
civil government. This he did by public proclamation ; but
the pressure upon the Confederate conscript officers for troops
led them to seize in many instances those exempt under the
governor's proclamation. The governor protested strongly
against such proceedings, and recommended action by the
legislature. The legislature also protested, but finally agreed
to waive its rights as to all civil officers not named in the
constitution and not necessary to the preservation of the
American form of government.
The administration of local government was, more or less,
1 Laws of 1864, p. 37. 8 Laws of 1864, p. 21.
2 Laws of 1863, p. 120. * Resolution of Aug. 13, 1864.
42 BECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
interfered with by the movements of the Union army and
the destruction of the county records. It became necessary,
therefore, for the legislature to grant authority to the local
officials to take unusual action when circumstances demanded
it. Thus they were empowered to remove the public records
to places of safety upon the approach of the enemy.1 Even
then the records were frequently destroyed, and hence probate
courts were empowered to reinstate judgments, orders, and
proceedings from memory, and clerks were allowed to re-
register claims, the evidence of which had been destroyed.
They were also empowered to record anew deeds and wills
which had been burned, while the Supreme Court was
authorized to furnish the local authorities with transcripts
of records of cases removed to it.2 Where appeals to the
Supreme Court were dismissed for want of prosecutors, or
because of the impossibility of filing a record, it was made
lawful for appellees at any time within two years to move
for a reinstatement of the case on the docket.3 The absence
of attorneys and the difficulty of producing witnesses often
made it impossible to proceed with a trial.
In many counties it was impossible for tax assessors to
make .their assessments on account of the presence of the
enemy. In some instances boards of police were empowered
to extend the time for making the assessment, in other cases
assessments were directed to be made on the basis of the
old assessment, the rolls to be furnished by the auditor.
No assessment was attempted in 1865, and it was enacted
that the old assessment should continue in force until 1869. 4
The same difficulty existed in the matter of collecting the
taxes. In many cases the time had to be extended by act
of the legislature. The property of absent soldiers was
exempt from distress and sale under execution. Property
destroyed by the enemy or " run off," as in the case of live
stock and slaves, but still on the assessment rolls, was re-
lieved of taxation, while the levee tax in the river counties
was suspended.
The effect of the presence of the Federal army on the
slave population made legislation necessary for the protec-
tion of owners. In communities adjacent to the camps and
lines of the Federal army, owners were permitted to remove
their slaves from the state. The same authority was granted
to executors, administrators, and guardians. Powers of
1 Laws of 1863, p. 90. 8 Laws of 1863, p. 220.
2 Laws of 1864, p. 38. * Laws of 1864, p. 31.
POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC ACTIVITY DURING THE WAR 43
commitment were given to justices of the peace, probate
judges, and clerks, in the case of runaway slaves.
In attempting to meet the exigencies of the war the legis-
lature did not always observe strictly the limits set to its
action by the constitution, and in fact seems to have amended
it by simple resolution, as occasion demanded. Thus the
following enacting clause appears in a statute of April 5,
1864 : " Be it enacted that the constitution of Mississippi
be and the same is hereby altered and amended," etc.1
Again an act "amending" an ordinance of the secession
convention occasionally appears.2
The chief task of the state and local governments during
the war was to maintain the army and supply the wants of
the destitute. Unfortunately the very year in which the
war began there was a crop failure in parts of the state,
which resulted in a widespread famine. One of the duties
of the secession convention was to provide means for the
relief of the famine-stricken inhabitants by sending an agent
to the northwest to buy bread-stuffs.3 For the purpose of
meeting the increased demands upon the treasury the state
tax was increased 50 per cent, a special tax of 3 per cent
was levied upon all money loaned or employed in the pur-
chase of securities, and provision was made for the issue
of 11,000,000 of treasury notes.4 This was soon fol-
lowed by the famous " Cotton Money " scheme, under which
treasury notes to the amount of 15,000,000 were issued
and put into circulation. Any person who desired to
accept these notes in payment for cotton, for which there
was little demand on account of the blockade, could make
application to the auditor, who issued notes equal to the value
of the cotton at five cents per pound. The owner in turn
promised to deliver the cotton at such time and place as the
governor might direct by public proclamation.5 By Novem-
ber, 1863, 8587 applications had been made for advances, and
these notes eventually came to be the chief circulating medium
of the state.
Before the end of the first year of the war an additional
tax of 30 per cent on the state tax was imposed for the relief
of the indigent. Shortly thereafter the state tax was again
increased 25 per cent for the payment of interest on certain
bonds issued to pay the Confederate taxes levied upon the
citizens of the state.6 In addition to flooding the country
1 Laws of 1864, p. 36. 4 Journal of Secession Convention, p. 128.
2 Laws of 1861 , p. 45, for example. 6 Laws of 1861, p. 60.
8 Vicksburg Whig, March 30, 1861. « Ibid. p. 197.
44 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
with its own notes the state authorized the several railroads
to issue scrip. The Mobile and Ohio was empowered to
issue 1300,000, the Mississippi Central 1300,000, the Missis-
sippi and Tennessee 1125,000, the Southern 1150,000, the
West Filiciana 150,000, the Grand Gulf and Port Gibson
$13,000, and the New Orleans, Jackson, and Great Northern
$300,000.!
Early in 1862 another issue of treasury notes to the amount
of 12,500,000 was made.2 In 1864 another issue of 12,000,000
followed.3 This was accompanied by an issue of $2,000,000
in bonds.4 No official statement of the total expenditures
during the four years of the war is available to the writer.
According to one authority they were as follows : 6 —
1861 . ... $1,824,161
1862 . . . .• $6,819,894
1863 . . . . $2,210,794
1864 . . . . $5,446,732
Total . . $ 16,301,581
Most of this indebtedness was incurred in " aid of the rebel-
lion," and was repudiated. The actual debt on October 25,
1865, was stated to be $4,979,324.6 Of this $3,796,564 were
unredeemed cotton notes, which were declared to be uncon-
stitutional in 1869. The real indebtedness, therefore, was
but little more than $1,000,000. A variety of expedients to
raise revenue were resorted to by the state government. In
the later years of the war, when specie was not to be had, a
tax in kind was levied. In 1865, it was 2 per cent on the
gross product of all corn, wheat, and bacon above a certain
amount. In addition, the counties were empowered to levy
a tax in kind of one-half of 1 per cent on the same prod-
ucts, for the benefit of the indigents.7 The railroads were
allowed to pay their debts to the state, aggregating nearly
$1,000,000, in Confederate notes.8 After the war, this act
was held to be unconstitutional, and the roads were required
to pay in sound money.9 In 1864, provision was made for
the sale of 2,000,000 acres of public land (at a sacrifice, of
course), as a means of replenishing the treasury.10
The task of relieving the wants of the destitute class taxed
1 Laws of 1861, p. 177. 3 Laws of 1864, p. 22.
2 Ibid. p. 286. * Ibid. p. 23.
6 Statement of Attorney General Harris Boutwell, Miss. Kept. 1875, p. 10.
6 House Journal, pp. 82-83. 8 Laws of 1863, p. 160.
* Laws of 1865, ch. i. 9 Thomas v. Taylor, 42 Miss. 667.
10 Act of Aug. 13, 1864.
POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC ACTIVITY DURING THE WAR 45
the energies of the state government quite as much as that of
equipping and supporting the army. This did not become a
serious problem until 1863, during which year the state was
overrun by the enemy, and the country, to a considerable ex-
tent, desolated. Early in the year, provision was made by the
legislature for the distribution of $500,000 in treasury notes
among destitute families, and for the payment of which a tax
equal to 50 per cent of the regular state levy was ordered.1
In December following, a class of officers styled " Indigent
Commissioners " was created to look after the needs of the
destitute, and to distribute among them the funds appro-
priated by the state. There were five of these for each
county. Another $500,000 of treasury notes was placed at
their disposal. For the payment of these notes a tax equal
to 150 per cent of the state levy was imposed. Payment of
the tax was permitted to be made in kind at prices fixed by
the state price commissioners. County boards were empow-
ered to levy an additional tax equal to from 100 per cent to
300 per cent of the state levy. They were furthermore em-
powered to issue scrip to an amount not exceeding 820,000
per year, and to impress such supplies as were necessary.2
Usually, where a county was fortunate enough to have a
school fund, poor fund, or swamp land fund, the legislature
cheerfully authorized its use for this purpose.3 In -1864,
$1,000,000 was appropriated for the relief of the indigent,
and the commissioners were authorized to impress the surplus
produce of all persons who had taken advantage of the Con-
federate exemption law as agriculturists. The commissioners
were also empowered to impress the wagons and teams neces-
sary to distribute the supplies. In any county where these
provisions were inadequate to afford the necessary relief, the
board of police was empowered to levy an additional tax, not
exceeding 300 per cent of the state tax.4 Similar provision
was made in 1865, although the chief reliance was placed
on the tax in kind, the amount of which was required to be
delivered by the persons assessed to such destitute persons
as the commissioners might direct.5 As the end of the war
drew near, the amount of destitution increased. Th'e condi-
tions were such in February, 1865, that the governor was
prevailed upon to call an extraordinary session of the legis-
lature, to afford relief to the sufferers. It was able to do
1 Laws of 1863, p. 71. 4 Laws of 1864, p. 27.
2 Ibid. pp. 111-122. 6 Laws of 1865, ch. i.
* Ibid. p. 196.
46 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
very little toward relieving their wants. What they needed
above all else was peace. Fortunately, it was in sight.
One of the most perplexing problems of the civil govern-
ment was how to procure salt and medicines, particularly
quinine, morphine, and calomel, for the destitute of the
state. The efforts put forth in this direction abundantly
illustrate the commercial dependence of the South on the
outside world. There were no salt works or mines in the
state, the nearest mine being at New Iberia, Louisiana. By
December, 1862, the want of salt had become the "most
pressing necessity " of any in the state. The governor sent
agents to Alabama, Virginia, and Louisiana to purchase a
supply, but with the exception of the agent sent to Louisiana
the missions were failures. The agent sent to Louisiana
succeeded in reaching Vicksburg with forty thousand pounds,
which was distributed among the poorer classes, and soon
used up. The governor wrote to President Davis, October 17,
1862, that a relaxation of the commercial regulations was
necessary to enable him to exchange cotton for salt. Many
of the people, he declared, had none, and were compelled to
eat their food without it.1 Moreover, the pork and beef,
more or less of which every family raised, could not be pre-
served or used without this all-important article. The gov-
ernor asked the legislature to authorize him to impress a
sufficient number of slaves to work the mine at New Iberia, and
wagons and teams with which to haul the salt.2 The permis-
sion was granted.3 In the meantime, speculators were doing
a thriving business, but the legislature came to the rescue of
the people, and carefully regulated the price of the article,
and imposed heavy penalties on those who exceeded the
schedule prices in their charges.4
The next experiment of the governor was to send an agent
with 120,000 and a steamboat to New Iberia. He secured a
supply and started back, but was stopped by Lincoln's block-
ade in the Bayou Teche. The governor then entered into
contracts with several foreigners who proposed to run the
blockade. Fifty bales of cotton were placed at the disposal
of a Frenchman, who deposited §10,000 in Confederate scrip
as a security ^for the delivery of the salt. The salt was
never delivered.5 What became of the $20,000 paid the
1 Official Records, Series IV. Vol. 2, p. 126.
2 Message to the legislature, Dec. 20, 1862.
8 Laws of 1863, p. 80.
* Laws of 1861, p. 144.
5 Message of Governor Pettus, Nov. 3, 1863.
POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC ACTIVITY DURING THE WAR 47
New Iberia agent and the fifty bales of cotton turned over
to the Frenchman were subsequently the subjects of legisla-
tive investigation.1 The governor also sent an agent to
Virginia uto make contracts for salt water, intending to
establish furnaces for the manufacture of salt on state ac-
count." This plan, like the others, was a failure. He then
authorized a local firm domiciled in east Mississippi to manu-
facture salt on private account for the people of north and
northeast Mississippi. Another agent was sent to Alabama
to purchase salt, make contracts for its manufacture, or to
establish furnaces and manufacture on state account. The
agent entered into contracts for the delivery of a large
amount, but like other contracts of this character they were
never fulfilled.2 The legislature now took action by appro-
priating $500,000 for procuring a supply, and authorized the
governor to appoint a state salt agent charged with the
general supervision of the salt administration. General
West was appointed in April, 1863, to receive and distribute
the supply, and to approve all contracts for the purchase or
manufacture of salt on state account.
In December, 1863, a complete system for the manufacture
of salt on state account was provided. Provision was made
for a general agent to manage and direct its manufacture,
and to distribute the same. He was empowered to appoint
" one or two skilful manufacturers," each of whom, like him-
self, was required to give a bond of $60,000. They were
authorized to erect the necessary buildings for the manufac-
ture of salt, and establish a state depot as a centre for dis-
tribution among the counties. There was also to be a salt
agent in each county.3
While the government was putting forth these efforts to
manufacture salt, the inhabitants were digging up the dirt
from the " smoke houses " and distilling it. In this way small
quantities of a coarse article were obtained. Where salt
water was obtainable, resort was had to the method of evap-
oration, by which process similar results were obtained.
Much of the legislation of the time was devoted to the
encouragement of home manufactures and the growth of
commodities necessary for the sustenance of life. To en-
courage the manufacture of leather, the taking and use of
oak bark was permitted to any person,* and the governor
was authorized to enter into arrangements with the govern-
1 Resolution of Aug. 13, 1864. 8 Laws of 1863, p. 163.
2 Message, supra. 4 Laws of 1861, p. 114.
48 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
ment for the purchase of the hides of all " Confederate "
beeves slaughtered in the state. For the encouragement of
cotton and wool manufactures a liberal bonus was offered
for the manufacture of cards. The employees of tanneries,
gun shops, cotton and woollen factories were exempt from
military service.1 To encourage the inhabitants to supply
themselves with arms, all taxes were prohibited on bowie
knives, sword canes, dirk knives, etc.2 To encourage the
growth of agricultural products necessary to feed the inhab-
itants, acts were passed to procure agricultural statistics,8
and in order to turn the attention of the people from the
growth of cotton, for which there was no demand, it was
enacted that no person should be allowed to plant over three
acres for each laborer employed, under a penalty of $500
per acre. Under an agricultural exemption law certain
planters were relieved from military service. Another
measure was passed to encourage the manufacture of wine
from the native grape.4
The use of corn and other products in the distillation of
spirituous liquors early became a matter of great complaint
by the civil authorities. Besides withdrawing a large
amount of agricultural products from the use of the army
and the destitute, it supplied a temptation to the soldier to
spend his earnings for drink. Early in 1863, the legislature
made it unlawful to distil spirituous liquors from corn, rye,
or other grain, sugar and molasses.6 The law, however, does
not appear to have been enforced, and in April the governor
informed General Pemberton that the distillation ought to
be stopped at once, that the civil remedies were too slow,
and that if the general would make a requisition for corn, he
would seize every bushel in the distilleries, and upon a
requisition for copper he would even seize the stills them-
selves. The authority was given.6 Even these measures
did not prevent the evil, and finally the legislature in 1864
took heroic measures. It was made the duty of every per-
son to destroy any distillery then existing as a public and
common nuisance, and the failure of the sheriff to do his
duty in the premises was to be punished by his removal
from office. Moreover, all laws authorizing licenses for the
sale of spirituous liquors were suspended for the remainder
of the war, and the sale of the article was absolutely pro-
* Official Records, Series IV. Vol. 1, p. 1110. * Laws of 1863, p. 146.
2 Laws of 1861, p. 134. 6 Ibid. p. 96.
8 Ibid. p. 227.
• Official Records, Series IV. Vol. 2, pp. 611, 613.
POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC ACTIVITY DURING THE WAR 49
hibited except for medicinal purposes. Provision was then
made for two state distilleries for the manufacture of liquor.
Dispensary agents were appointed in each county to supply
those who had certificates from practising physicians. They
were authorized also to sell to state and Confederate troops,
and furnish destitute persons such quantities as were neces-
sary, free of cost.1 The difficulty of procuring the necessities
of life was due not only to the scarcity but quite as much to
the character of the currency and the exorbitant charges.
Before the end of the first year of the war state and Confed-
erate scrip had depreciated so that a soldier's pay for a month
would barely buy him a coat. In December, 1862, flour was
selling in North Mississippi for from $50 to 875 per barrel,
salt meat was worth from 50 to 75 cents per pound ; the
coarsest shoes sold for 85 a pair, while a pair that could have
been easily bought in Chicago for 81.50 sold for $15 in
Corinth and Holly Springs. Men's boots sold for $30 to
$50 per pair, and calico brought $2 per yard.2 At one time,
while Johnson's army occupied Jackson, there were only
three barrels of flour in the place. The regular price of the
article was $200 per barrel.3 In September, 1863, an ordi-
nary horse in the country adjacent to Vicksburg was worth
$1000, and a good mule brought $700. The price of shoes
ranged from $75 to $100 a pair, and even watermelons
brought from $10 to $25 apiece. At Enterprise, in the east-
ern part of the state, about the same time salt was selling
at $45 per bushel, with an " upward tendency," flour at $50
a sack and $12 per pound. Cotton yarns were worth $30
per yard.4
An English traveller relates that while at Jackson, in the
summer of 1863, he paid 35 cents good money for a square
of " Confederate " soap about the size of a small billiard ball ;
50 cents for two small boxes of matches, of which the seller
candidly told him not one in five would light ; and 5 cents for
an envelope made out of a sort of slate-colored grocer's paper
of Confederate production, with the words printed on it : —
" Stand firmly by your cannon,
Let ball and grape shot fly,
Trust in God and Davis,
And keep your powder dry ! " 6
i Laws of 1864, Act of April 6. 2 New York Times, Dec. 5, 1862.
8 Memphis Correspondence in New York Evening Express, Sept. 21, 1863.
* Statement of the secretary of the Confederate Society, New York
News, Oct. 27, 1863.
6 Bentley, Two Months in the Confederacy, p. 101.
50 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
In October, 1863, flour was quoted at from $60 to 865
per barrel ; in November, the price ranged from $90 to $100,
while corn meal sold at $15 per bushel.1 General Grierson
says salt was in demand at $30 per bushel in that part of the
state through which he passed in 1863.2 President Goodman
of the New Orleans, Jackson, and Great Northern railroad
says there were locomotives in use on his line in July, 1863,
that were worth $900,000 apiece (Confederate notes).3
In February, 1864, men's boots were selling for $200 per
pair at Natchez, and coats were quoted at $350 each.4 The
adoption of the practice of the state government in impress-
ing private property made it necessary to fix a schedule of
prices to be paid for property thus taken. For this pur-
pose two commissioners were appointed, and they divided the
state into four "price" districts which corresponded roughly
with east Mississippi, north Mississippi, central Mississippi,
and south Mississippi ; the western part of the state being
largely in the possession of the enemy. The following was
the schedule adopted in April, 1864, for the more important
articles: bacon, $1.40 to $1.50 per pound; coffee, $5 per
pound; corn, $1.75 to $3.10 per bushel ; corn meal, $2.25 to
$3 per bushel ; flour, extra, $50 per barrel ; horses, first class,
$700 ; good jeans, $8 per yard ; molasses, $7 per gallon ;
salt, $15 per bushel ; army shoes, $10 per pair ; soap, 75
cents per pound ; woollen socks, $2 per pair ; sugar, $2 per
pound ; green tea, $10 per pound ; vinegar, $3 per gallon,
and wool $5 per pound.5 The prices were the same in all
the districts, except in the case of bacon, corn, and corn meal,
the price of which was considerably higher in the southern
district. The price of cotton steadily increased during the
war. At the time the blockade was proclaimed it was worth
about 10 cents per pound. In December, 1862, it was worth
68 cents per pound ; in December, 1863, the price had risen
to 84 cents, and by December 1, 1865, it had reached $1.20.6
The price of service and labor increased quite as much as the
price of commodities. In 1864, a Jackson paper complained
that the postage on a letter from Brandon to the trans-
Mississippi department was 40 cents.7
1 Charleston Mercury, Nov. 19, 1863.
2 See his report, supra.
8 Official Records, Series I. Vol. 52, pt. ii. p. 509.
* Cairo Correspondence, New York Herald, Feb. 15, 1864.
5 Official Records, Series IV. Vol. 3, pp. 262-266. The price commis-
sioners were Ex-Governor McRae and G. D. Moore, Esq.
6 Shucker's Life of Chase, p. 322.
7 The Mississippian, Aug. 13.
CHAPTER SECOND
THE TRANSITION FROM WAR TO RECONSTRUCTION
I. THE PEACE SENTIMENT
DURING the first two years of the war there was no other
feeling in the state than that of a determination to push the
contest to a successful issue,1 but with the fall of Vicksburg
in July, 1863, and the virtual expulsion of the Confederates
from the western part of the state, a peace sentiment began
to develop in some localities. Many who had hitherto been
hopeful of success, and who had given their earnest support
to the cause of the Confederacy, now saw clearly that its
failure was only a question of time. To continue in the
support of a cause that was bringing misery and ruin to the
people, and which was foredoomed to certain defeat, seemed
the height of folly, especially to those who had in the begin-
ning opposed the war. Prominent citizens of this class, for
the most part old-line Whigs, like Judges Sharkey, Poindex-
ter, and Yerger, took the lead in the movement for the con-
clusion of peace on the basis of a return to the Union. They
petitioned General Grant to protect them against the raids
of the Confederate cavalry which surged back and forth,
stripping the country of horses, cattle, food, and forage.2
The request was complied with, and it was ordered that the
most rigorous penalties be inflicted on all irregular cavalry
not in the regular Confederate service, and upon all conscrip-
tion officers found west of the present Illinois Central rail-
road.3
1 The Jackson Mississippian, in February, 1863, declared that the inde-
pendence of the Confederacy would soon be acknowledged, and peace con-
cluded. "Our opinion is," said the editor, "that the northern ruinp of a
government has well-nigh spent its strength, and if it persists in urging the
war upon the emancipation policy, it will find an enemy at home which will
give it enough to do. We look upon our disenthrallment as one of the cer-
tainties of the future." Quoted by the New York Times of Feb. 3, 1863.
2 New York Times, Sept. 26, 1863. 3 Ibid Aug. 30, 1863.
61
52 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
As early as the 27th of July, 1863, General Sherman
reported that the leading citizens of Jackson and the sur-
rounding country had " implored " him to take some action
by which peace might be restored and the state readmitted
to the Union. Both the army and the people, he declared,
were dispirited and ready for peace.1 A meeting had already
been held at Jackson on the 21st of July to consider a plan
of reorganization. Delegates from a number of towns were
present, and the question of restoration was fully discussed.
They asked for permission to reorganize the government in
conformity with the Constitution and laws of the United
States. Sherman at once informed his chief that he thought
the movement should be received with favor, as it would
constitute an " admirable wedge " which might be used to
great advantage.3 Subsequently he informed a committee
that his government was still theirs, and it would be easy to
put into operation in their county. " You are still citizens
of the United States and of Mississippi," he said. " You have
only to begin and form one precinct and then another. Soon
your county will have such an organization as the military
authorities will respect. One county will affect another,
and the moment you can, by fair elections, send representa-
tives to Congress, I doubt not that they will be received, and
then Mississippi will be again as much a part of the United
States as Kentucky or Indiana, and will soon have courts and
law and all the other machinery of government." 4
In the official report of his expedition to Jackson in Sep-
tember, 1863, he said : " I know that many of the best in-
habitants of the state are now clamorous for peace on any
terms perfectly acceptable to all who do not aim at the
absolute destruction of this part of the United States."5
There can be no doubt that Sherman's statement contained
a large element of truth. Although, as he says, the peace
party was made up of some of the most distinguished and
best citizens of the state, it is impossible to form any intelli-
gent idea of the numerical strength of the party. There
were, doubtless, many who secretly favored peace, but who
did not have the courage to announce their professions
openly. To do this was in some communities not pleasant,
in some, perhaps, not safe. It was a general belief in the
1 New York Express, July 28, 1863.
2 New York World, Aug. 7, 1863.
8 Letter to General Grant, Official Records, Series I. Vol. 24, pt. ii. p. 530.
4 New York Times, Jan. 17, 1864.
6 Ibid. Sept. 30, 1863.
THE PEACE SENTIMENT 5C
North that as the Federal armies penetrated the South those
who had been " secretly " in favor of the Union would de-
clare their allegiance to the United States. This did not
happen, however, except in those parts of the territory that
were permanently occupied by the military forces. In
August, 1863, ex-Governor Brown, Judge Sharkey, and
others took the oath of allegiance to the United States, the
venerable ex-chief justice basing his justification on Presi-
dent Davis's prophecy that the fall of Vicksburg and Port
Hudson would mean the inevitable destruction of the Con-
federacy. "Now," he said, "I take him at his word."1
Similar action was taken by many citizens in the western
part of the state, particularly in the vicinity of Vicksburg
and Natchez. A newspaper correspondent in August, 1863,
estimated that one-half of the inhabitants of Natchez, for
the most part wealthy planters and slaveholders, were Union
in sympathy.2 The Richmond Enquirer said these men had
had their "patriotism corrupted by love of cotton." An-
other correspondent thought nine-tenths of the inhabitants
were anxious for peace and restoration to the Union.3 The
Richmond Examiner of August 1, 1863, announced that
troops in "large numbers" were deserting Johnston's army
at Jackson and going into the Union lines, whereupon the
Mobile Advertiser declared that they were "whining for
peace and reconstruction."
Notwithstanding this sentiment, the politicians flattered
the people that they would yet win, and that a reconstructed
Union must not be thought of. The outgoing governor in
his message to the legislature in November, 1863, declared
that independence or that which was worse than death were
the only alternatives presented to the people, and the sooner
the truth was fully realized and acted upon the better it
would be for themselves and their children.4 The incoming
governor said in his inaugural that if there were any who
deluded themselves with " visions of a reconstructed Union "
and a " restored Constitution " let them awake from their
dreaming. "Between the North and the South," he -said,
" there is a great gulf fixed. It can be passed only with
dishonor, and in reconstruction we shall reach the climax of
infamy."5 To some extent the press concurred in these
views. The Meridian Clarion favored prosecuting the war
1 J. A. W. in New York Times, Sept. 26, 1863.
2 Ibid. Aug. 16, 1863. 3 Ibid. Aug. 2, 1863.
* Official Records, Series I. Vol. 2, pp. 921-927.
6 New York World, Nov. 10, 1863.
54 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
as long as there was a man left to fight, and asserted that no
step backward could be taken. " Our only course," it said,
" is onward with vigor and energy. Let the people bear
their burdens cheerfully. We have not yet learned to battle
with adversity, like the Greeks and Dutch. When our terri-
tory is all overrun, our armies dispersed, and the people
suffering from famine, we will learn what other nations have
paid for their independence. If our people will remain firm,
we shall never be reduced to that condition, but with strong
arms and well-filled larders we shall achieve that grand tri-
umph which will bring forth peans of praise from freemen
in every part of the world." l
In the meantime the military authorities were bestirring
themselves to encourage the development of a healthy senti-
ment in favor of reconstruction and the reestablishment of
civil government in conformity with the Constitution and
laws of the United States. In April, 1864, Major General
Dana, with this end in view, advised and gave countenance
to the holding of a convention at Vicksburg in June. At
the same time he said he had in contemplation the ordering
of a civil government for both Natchez and Vicksburg, so
far as it was consistent with the existence of martial law.2
How these movements were disturbing the politicians may
be gathered from a letter of Mr. Phelan, one of the Missis-
sippi senators in the Confederate Congress. On October 2,
1864, he wrote President Davis : " The infernal hydra of
reconstruction is again rearing its envenomed head in our
state. If disasters intervene between this time and next
autumn, you may anticipate a contest in Mississippi that
will tax the powers and pain the souls of 'good men and
true.' Only a Spartan band is left in the state, but the
timid, the traitor, and the time-server are legion."3
The Jackson Mississippian, which, as we have seen, looked
forward in February, 1863, to an early independence, went
over to the peace party in November, 1864. In an edi-
torial the editor pleaded for peace, and called upon both
sides "to meet each other upon the halfway ground of
mutual compromise, concession, and conciliation." " Beyond
all doubt," he said, " the great body of the people desire
peace, and the failure to conclude an honorable peace is due
to moral cowardice."4
1 Quoted in New York Times of Feb. 26, 1865.
2 New York Times, May 9, 1865.
8 Official Records, Series IV. Vol. 3, p. 709.
* Quoted in New York Herald, Nov. 28, 1864.
THE PEACE SENTIMENT 55
With the approach of the spring of 1865 the peace move-
ment assumed greater proportions on account of the deplor-
able condition of the country. In some parts of the state
bands of deserters and stragglers infested the land, robbing
friend and foe alike ; dismounted cavalry took the horses of
the planters, while a victorious enemy seized their food and
clothing. The people were thoroughly tired of a conflict
which every day was further plunging them into ruin, and in
which there was no longer the slightest hope of success.
The efforts of the conscript officers and the flattering appeals
of the state and Confederate authorities could no longer be
depended upon to recruit the depleted ranks of the army. It
was patent to the most hopeful that the collapse of the Con-
federacy was very near, and that peace ought to be made
early enough in the year to enable the disbanded soldiers to
plant a crop, and thus drive away the starvation which
threatened their families. The Union sentiment was so
strong in Tishomingo County that as early as January, 1865,
the United States military authorities granted permission to
the inhabitants to hold regular sessions of the circuit, pro-
bate, and police courts upon certain conditions. At the
same time authority was granted to run trains on both rail-
roads in the county for the private convenience of the
citizens.1 Early in March a meeting was held in Newton
County, at which 229 persons were present ; resolutions were
adopted expressing their readiness to submit to the authority
of the United States, and invoking the protection of the Fed-
eral authorities against deserters, jayhawkers, and robbers.
About the same time similar action was taken by a meeting
" composed of respectable farmers " in Kemper County.2
An early movement looking to reconstruction also took
definite form in Jefferson County.3 The New York Tribune
of March 25, 1865, published a long list of prominent persons
in Mississippi who " favored reconstruction on the basis of
the Union and the Constitution." The list includes the
names of the senators and representatives in the Confeder-
ate Congress.
It is not to be inferred, however, that these movements in
favor of peace represented the unanimous sentiment of the
people, even as late as March, 1865. There were counter
demonstrations here and there, which were usually harangued
1 Official Records, Series I. Vol. 49, pt. i. p. 612.
2 Ibid. p. 252.
8 Natchez Courier, May 13, 1865.
56 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
by some politician who still professed to believe that their
efforts would ultimately be crowned with success, and that
peace concluded on any terms except recognition of indepen-
dence was dishonorable, and not to be thought of for a mo-
ment. Such a meeting was held at Canton in Madison
County on the first of March, 1865. One of the leading
speakers was the chief justice, an "original secessionist,"
who declared that there could be no submission, no recon-
struction, but only independence or death.1 His speech was
replied to by William Yerger, who represented the peace
party. Yerger was a prominent Whig, and with possibly
one exception was the leader of the Mississippi bar.
It is impossible to tell how formidable the peace party
might have become, had the war continued a year longer.
As Phelan suggests, it might have been sufficiently strong in
numbers to produce a " contest " that would have pained the
"good and true." However this may be, the time had now
arrived when peace was in sight, and the politicians were
powerless to prevent its further advent.
II. THE COLLAPSE OF THE CONFEDERACY
On the 9th of April General Lee surrendered, and on the
14th the news of the surrender was published for the first
time in the Mississippi papers.2 As most of the Mississippi
troops were in General Richard Taylor's army, not yet sur-
rendered, they were obliged to remain at the front until the
planting season was well-nigh past. With the surrender of
Johnston's army on the 26th of April, all the Confederate
forces east of the Mississippi, except Taylor's, had laid down
their arms. A week after the surrender of Johnston, Taylor
sent General Dabney H. Maury to inform the troops that in
all likelihood it would soon become his duty to surrender.
General Maury was asked to explain to them that a surrender
in such an event would not be the consequence of any defeat,
but was simply yielding upon the best terms to the logic of
events, and with a preservation of their military honor.3
On the 6th of May, General Taylor surrendered to General
Canby. From his headquarters at Meridian he issued a
1 New York Herald, March 25, 1865.
2 Official Records, Series I. Vol. 49, pt. i. p. 612.
3 Ibid. p. 1272. General Maury was instructed by General Taylor to say
to the soldiers that in being transported to their homes no Federal guard
would be put over them, and that their private rights and property, and their
THE COLLAPSE OF THE CONFEDERACY 57
general order reciting the surrender of generals Lee and
Johnston, events which, he said, practically ended the
war.
In surrendering, the troops were accorded what are tech-
nically known as military honors. They were paroled by
commissioners selected for that purpose, and were subjected
to no humiliation or degradation. Both officers and men
were allowed to retain their private horses. The bearing of
General Canby was such as to evoke the highest praise from
the Confederate general.1 With the surrender of General
Forrest two days afterward, all the Confederate soldiers
east of the Mississippi River submitted to the authority of
the United States. General Forrest, in his farewell address,
appealed to the soldiers of his command to accept the situa-
tion in good faith, cheerfully submit to the authority of the
United States, obey its laws, and aid in restoring peace.2
Having given their paroles not to take up arms again against
the United States, these ragged, hungry veterans of a lost
cause returned to their homes to begin the work of res-
toration. The desolation which met their eyes was
appalling. It was enough to fill the stoutest heart with
despair.
Governor Clarke issued a proclamation from Meridian on
the day of General Taylor's surrender, in which he informed
the people of the state of the surrender of all the Confeder-
ate forces east of the Mississippi River, and announced that
he had summoned the legislature to meet on the 18th of May
to provide for calling a convention, and that the officers of
the state government had been directed to return with the
archives to Jackson. He enjoined all county officers to be
vigilant in the preservation of order and the protection of
honor and feeling as soldiers and men would be zealously protected. He
wished to assure them that he could say in perfect sincerity and with an un-
abated confidence in the justice of their cause, that there was but one course
to take, and that was to manfully and honorably meet their responsibilities
as citizens and soldiers. By pursuing such a course, they would secure the
best conditions ever granted to an unfortunate side in an appeal to arms to
settle national differences, and even their enemies would respect their manli-
ness and consistency, and do justice to their motives.
1 "This liberality and fairness," said General Taylor, "make it the duty
of each and all of us to faithfully execute our part of the contract. The
honor of all of us is involved in an honest adherence to its terms. The offi-
cer or man who fails to observe them is an enemy to the defenceless women
and children of the South, and will deserve the severest penalties that can dis-
grace a soldier." The day before the surrender, General Maury issued an
address to the soldiers of his command, largely Mississippianrf, at a place six
miles east of Meridian.
2 Official Records, Series I. Vol. 40, pt. i. p. 1289.
58 KECONSTBUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
property, and asserted that sheriffs still had power to call
out the posse comitatus, and that the militia would be kept
under arms to maintain the peace. " The state laws," said
he, " must be enforced as they now are until repealed. If
the public property is protected, and peace preserved, the
necessity of Federal troops in your counties will be avoided."
Sheriffs were urged to continue to arrest all marauders and
plunderers, and masters were informed that they would be
held responsible, as heretofore, for the protection and conduct
of their slaves. " Let all citizens," said he, " fearlessly adhere
to the fortunes of the state, assist the returning soldiers to
obtain civil employment, contemn all twelfth-hour vaporers,
and meet facts with fortitude and common sense."1 The gov-
ernor evidently proceeded upon the belief that the business of
reconstruction would be left to the existing state authorities.
But the North, flushed with victory, was in no mood to
leave the work of restoration to the late Confederates, and a
week after the publication of Governor Clarke's proclama-
tion, a Federal brigadier general issued a proclamation from
Natchez warning all good citizens of his district against any
action, individually or collectively, armed or unarmed, under
the authority of the " so-called Governor Clarke." " Mar-
tial law," he said, " still exists over the state of Mississippi,
and steps are being rapidly taken by the proper authorities
to protect life and property, and preserve order wherever
needed." 2 He said the only body of persons that would be
recognized was a convention authorized by the district com-
mander to meet at Vicksburg, June 11. This meeting was
the outcome of an appeal by Judge Burwell to the people of
the state, in May, urging them to return to their allegiance,
and inviting them to send delegates to a convention to take
steps to pave the way for a restoration of Mississippi to her
former place in the Union. This first movement in the
1 Governor Clarke's proclamation is printed in the Chicago Tribune of
May 24, 1865. Upon receiving an intimation from General Taylor of his
intention to surrender, Governor Clarke made a hurried visit to Jackson and
had a conference with a number of prominent gentlemen at the home of Will-
iam Yerger, the purpose being to consult them as to the course they thought
advisable for him to pursue after the armies had surrendered. He gave his
own opinion that the proper course was to call the legislature together, send
in a message exhorting the people to accept in good faith the results of the
war, and recommend the sending of a commission to Washington to assure
the President of their desire to be restored to the Union. His view of the
case was unanimously approved by the conference. He returned to Meridian
next morning, and was present at the surrender of Taylor's army. T. J.
Wharton in Memphis Commercial Appeal, Dec. 29, 1895.
2 Chicago Tribune, May 24, 1865.
THE COLLAPSE OF THE CONFEDERACY 59
direction of reconstruction was sanctioned and authorized by
the department commander.1
The legislature which Governor Clarke had assumed au-
thority to call, met at Jackson on the 18th of May. It was
not prohibited by the military authorities from assembling,
upon assurance that it met more as a committee of safety
than as a legislative body, and that the meeting was informal,
and would be of short duration. The governor sent in a
message in which he adverted to his responsibility in calling
the legislature together, spoke of the peculiar circumstances
under which they met, and frankly admitted that the war
had ended, and with it the power of the Confederacy. He
expressed apprehension that the presence of the military
power would render the reorganization of the states a deli-
cate and difficult task, and to aid in its accomplishment, he
advised the adoption of the speediest measures possible, con-
sistent with the rights of the state and the liberties of the
people. He spoke of the unanimity with which the conven-
tion had passed the ordinance of secession, insisted that there
were causes which justified revolution and made secession a
necessity, and declared that the people of Mississippi had
taken up arms with no purpose of aggression, but for pur-
poses of defence only. The people of the North, who had
astonished the world by an exhibition of their power, could
not now desire the abasement of a people whom they had
found equal to themselves in all except numbers and
resources. " The terrible contest," said he, " through which
the country has just passed, has aroused in every section the
fiercest passions of the human heart. Lawlessness seems to
have culminated in the assassination of Mr. Lincoln. For
that act of atrocity, so repugnant to the instincts of our
hearts, you feel, I am sure, in common with the whole
people, the profoundest sentiments of detestation." He
recommended the calling of a convention to repeal the ordi-
nance of secession and to enlarge the power of the legislature.2
The legislature remained in session about one hour. It
was scarcely organized, and a brief message read, when the
report came that General Osband had received orders to
1 Chicago Tribune, May 12, 1865. A meeting of loyal persons from
Mississippi, Tennessee, and Arkansas was held in Memphis on May 1, and
resolutions were adopted declaring it to be their duty, as well as their desire, to
return in good faith to their former allegiance. They pledged an " active
cooperation" in any measures that had in view the restoration of civil law
and the readmission of the state to the Union. The resolutions are printed in
the Chicago Tribune of May 10, 1865.
J The message is printed in the Neiv York Times of June 11, 1865.
60 EECONSTBUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
arrest the members if they attempted to exercise general
powers of legislation, whereupon they suspended the rules,
passed their measures, and adjourned in great haste and con-
fusion. The members, carrying their own baggage, hurried
to the depot and took the first train that left Jackson.1
During its brief session, the legislature made provision for a
convention to meet July 3, for the appointment of three
commissioners to proceed to Washington to confer with the
President as to the course to be pursued by him, and adopted
a resolution deploring the murder of President Lincoln.
The military authorities, under instructions from the Presi-
dent, refused to recognize the organization of the existing
state government, or the validity of any of its official acts,
or the rightful authority of any party pretending to hold or
exercise any office under such pretended government.
Two days after the meeting of the legislature the legal
status was defined in a telegraphic despatch of General Canby
to the commander of the Department of Mississippi. The
commander was informed that by direction of the President
he should recognize no officer of the Confederate or state
government ; and that he should prevent, by force, if neces-
sary, the meeting of the legislature for purposes of legis-
lation, and arrest and imprison any member who should
attempt to exercise those functions. Civil officers of the
state and Confederate governments were informed that they
were not included in the " capitulation " of the military
forces, and were advised to return to their posts, taking with
them the archives and property in their custody, and await
the action of the United States government. If this should
be done in good faith, they might be allowed to remain at
their homes without molestation, so long as they conducted
themselves with propriety, and no attempt was made to
evade the legal responsibilities which they had incurred.
They were reminded of the importance of preserving the
land, judicial, and other records in their possession.2
In pursuance of orders, Governor Clarke, while suffering
from wounds, was arrested and imprisoned in Fort Pulaski,
Savannah ; 3 the other state officers were placed under guard,
1 T. J. Wharton, Memphis Commercial Appeal, Dec. 19, 1895.
2 Official Records, Series I. Vol. 48, Serial No. 102, p. 520.
8 The arrest of Governor Clarke was witnessed by only a few persons.
One of these has left a description of the incident. He says : " The old sol-
dier, when informed of the purpose of the officer, straightened his mangled
limbs as best he could, and with great difficulty mounted his crutches, and vrith
a look of defiance said : ' General Osband, I denounce before high heaven
and the civilized world this unparalleled act of tyranny and usurpation, I
THE COLLAPSE OF THE CONFEDERACY 61
and General Osband, on May 22, took forcible possession of
all the public property and archives of the state. The fol-
lowing day, General Canby telegraphed his approval of these
measures. The following is General Osband's report of his
action : —
COLONEL : — I have to report that the so-called legislature of
this state met here on the 20th inst. After receiving your de-
spatch date 20th inst. I found them on the eve of adjournment.
To avoid any excitement, I did not interfere, as they expressly
stated to me that they did not meet as a legislature, but as a com-
mittee of public safety. They passed three acts, viz. : 1. To call
a convention. 2. To send three commissioners to Washington to
confer with the President and find what was necessary to bring
the state back to the Union. 3. To deplore the death of our late
President. The commissioners appointed are the oldest and most
ultra-Union men in the state. Upon the adjournment of the legis-
lature, I immediately notified Governor Clarke that I could not
recognize the civil government of Mississippi, and having placed
the offices of the heads of the state departments under guard,
demanded the custody of public books, papers, and property, and
the executive mansion, appointing Monday 22d inst. for their de-
livery. At 9 A.M. Governor Clarke delivered to me all public
property of the state under protest, but without asking to have
force employed. I have designated an officer as commissioner to
receive from the heads of state departments with inventory, and
with certificates of completeness, the archives of the state, and to
seal the same to-day at noon.
E. D. OSBAND, Brevet Brig. Gen.
To LIEUT. COL. C. T. CHRISTIAN.
JACKSON, Miss., May 22, 1865.
Mississippi was now without a state government of any
kind. The governor was in prison charged with treason;
the legislature was forbidden to meet ; the archives and
public property were in the hands of the military ; the writ
of habeas corpus was still suspended, the President had not
yet officially announced the end of the war ; martial law was
supreme throughout the state. What would come next, no
one could foresee. This was a period of anxious uncertainty.
Many expected wholesale confiscation, proscription, and the
reign of the scaffold. People were thrown into more or less
terror. Some held their breath, indulging in the wildest
am the duly and constitutionally elected governor of the state of Mississippi,
and would resist, if in my power, to the last extremity the enforcement of
your order. I only yield obedience, as I have no power to resist.' " T. J.
Wharton, Memphis Commercial Appeal, Dec. 29, 1895.
62 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
apprehension as to the character of the treatment they would
receive from the United States. For days and weeks, fright-
ened women lived in a state of fearful suspense, in hourly
expectation of the beginning of all that their fruitful imagi-
nations had pictured of Northern vandalism and rapacity.
Old men, as well as some younger ones, shared largely in
this belief. They desired some assurance from the Federal
government as to what its policy would be. Hence the idea
of a commission to Washington. During this period there
would not have been much controversy about terms, but as
the anticipated retribution was continually delayed, the worst
apprehensions subsided, the equanimity of the people was
restored, and the feeling of terror passed away with the
issuance of the North Carolina proclamation of May 29. l
The commissioners selected by Governor Clarke to go to
Washington and ascertain the wishes of the President were
Ex-Chief Justice Sharkey and Hon. William Yerger. They
were both old-line Whigs with strong Union proclivities, and,
like the President, were natives of Tennessee. There were,
to be sure, no safer men in the state to follow during this
critical time than Sharkey and Yerger.2 They proceeded at
once to Washington, notified the President of their arrival
and of the purpose of their mission, and solicited an inter-
view. They were informed that they could not be received
as commissioners of Mississippi, but only as private indi-
viduals. As such they were received with great cordiality
and kindness, and were asked to suggest their proposed
scheme of reconstruction. They represented to him the
terrible condition of the country, the great destitution of
the people, and the anarchy resulting from the subversion
of civil law and the establishment of martial law. They
asked that steps be taken to restore them to their original
relations with the Federal union, and thereby insure peace
and repose to the people. They proposed that the conven-
tion called by the legislature be allowed to meet and reorgan-
1 As late as June 22, a Federal soldier stationed at Okolona (Lieutenant
Colonel H. C. Forbes, Seventh 111. Cavalry), in a letter to General Whipple,
speaking of the great uncertainty upon the part of the people as to the prob-
able policy of the government, said, " lam daily visited by hundreds of men
asking information of vital interest without the ability to give more than a
semi-intelligent guess toward the solution." Official Records, Series I. Vol.
49, Serial No. 104, p. 1024.
2 Governor Sharkey says Jones Hamilton, Esq., went along as a sort of
secretary to himself and Judge Yerger. "The fact is," said Sharkey, "we
had no money to bear our expenses, and Colonel Hamilton, being a moneyed
man, agreed to accompany us and pay the bills." Testimony before Recon-
struction Committee. Report Committees, 1st Ses. 39th Cong. pt. iii. p. 137.
THE COLLAPSE OF THE CONFEDEEACY 63
ize the state. This the President rejected at once, as he said
he could not recognize for a moment any of the appointees
of rebel officers. He then asked if they had read his North
Carolina proclamation, in which he had proposed a plan of
restoring civil government in that state, and if its terms
would be acceptable to them. They replied that they had
read it, and next to the course proposed by their own legis-
lature, they believed it would more nearly meet the approval
of the people. They assured the President that the people
were anxious to be restored to their rights under the govern-
ment, and that they intended to abide by and support the
Constitution and laws of the United States in good faith,
and in future conduct themselves as loyal citizens. The
President told them that they must distinctly understand
one thing, and that was that the people of Mississippi must
recognize and abide by the order of things as brought about
by the war, including, of course, the abolition of slavery.
This, he said, was a sine qua non to the establishment of civil
government. It was not his purpose to order or dictate any-
thing ; but they must plainly understand that unless they
amended their constitution so as to conform to the facts of
the situation, so far as he was concerned he would never
consent to the reestablishment of civil government in Mis-
sissippi. With this understanding the commissioners with-
drew and returned to the state, leaving the matter in the
hands of the President.1
III. THE PRIVATE LAW STATUS DURING THE CIVIL
WAR
The collapse of the Confederacy and the consequent dis-
solution of the state government, organized in conformity
thereto, left the private law in a somewhat unsettled condi-
tion. The chief judicial problem of reconstruction, there-
fore, was the adjudication of controversies growing out of
the Civil War. In the determination of these questions it was
often necessary to define the public and private law status
of the state during the war. As already pointed out in
another connection, the state and local governments were
maintained during the war, so far as the necessities for civil
1 1 have followed the account given by Judge Yerger ir. his speech before
the convention in June. This speech is printed in the Convention Journal,
pp. 146-147, and also in the Chicago Tribune of Sept. 4, 1865.
64 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
government required. Officers were regularly chosen, and
were required to take an oath of allegiance to the Confeder-
ate government. It was subsequently held by the High
Court of Errors and Appeals that the provision in the Con-
stitution of the United States requiring members of the
state legislature to take an oath to support the national
Constitution was merely directory, and the failure to take
such an oath did not invalidate their legislation.1 The state
legislature met regularly during the war, and enacted laws
which every inhabitant was bound to obey. Transactions
involving millions of dollars were made in accordance with
formalities prescribed by the state government ; contracts
were entered into ; marriage relations were formed and
children born ; estates of decedents were administered ;
conveyances of property were made ; courts were held,
judgments rendered, and decrees executed in accordance
therewith ; vested rights were acquired, and business relations
formed. If the government under which these transactions
occurred was insurrectionary in its character, what, there-
fore, was their legal status upon the suppression of the
insurrection ? Clearly no sound principle of state policy, to
say nothing of reason, could be subserved by holding that
no government existed in the state from 1861 to 1865 ; that
the inhabitants were reduced to a state of anarchy ; that all
executory contracts were voidable at the pleasure of either
party, and that all executed contracts were void; that all
rights acquired were unlawful ; and that all relations formed
must, as far as possible, be undone. To hold that all the
acts of the government during this period were illegal would
have led to consequences productive of incalculable mischief.2
These acts fall naturally into two classes : First, those the
primary purpose of which was to maintain peace and order,
and regulate the private relations of the inhabitants. This
class of acts sustained no direct relation to the prosecution
of the war, but were measures which, in all probability, would
have been enacted had there been no war. The second class
includes those done in uaid of the rebellion." The Supreme
Court, after the war, uniformly held the acts of the first
1 Hill vs. Boyland, 40 Miss. 618.
2 The United States Supreme Court in the case of Thorrington vs. Smith
said obedience to the authorities of the Confederate government in civil
and local matters was a necessity and a duty upon the part of those domiciled
within its jurisdiction. Without such obedience civil order was impossible.
The court, however, refused to recognize the Confederate government as de
facto, in the sense that its adherents in war against the de jure government
did not incur the penalties of treason.
THE PRIVATE LAW STATUS DURING THE CIVIL WAR 65
class to be valid and binding as those done by a de jure gov-
ernment. On the other hand, it generally held the acts of
the second class to be invalid.
Relative to the private law status during the war, the
High Court said, in the case already cited, " The proposition
that the citizens who owed at least temporary allegiance
to the government which possessed their property and con-
trolled by its power their persons during the period of
such dominion were remanded to a state of nature as bar-
barians and outlaws in all their relations with one another,
civil as well as criminal — as a judicial question, seems to us
neither sanctioned by the principles of international law
recognized by our highest judicial tribunals, nor by any code
of morality known to civilized nations. Admitting," said
the court, " that the ordinance of secession was a nullity, the
state of Mississippi, neither in fact nor in legal contemplation,
could be annihilated." This was the position taken by the
United States Supreme Court in Texas vs. White the follow-
ing year.1 The attempt to secede only changed the relations
toward the government of the United States, i.e. the public
law relations, and not the relations between individuals com-
posing the state, i.e. the private law relations. So far, there-
fore, as the private relations of the inhabitants were concerned,
the government which existed in the state during the war
was not only de facto but de jure.
The state convention of 1865, realizing the absolute neces-
sity of recognizing the validity of certain of the governmental
acts made during the previous four years, adopted an ordi-
nance declaring all laws enacted since January 9, 1861, with
two exceptions, so far as they were not in conflict with the
laws and Constitution of the United States, nor in " aid of the
rebellion," to be revived, ratified, and held valid and binding
until altered or repealed by the proper authority.2 All official
acts of public officers ; all judgments, decrees, and orders of
the courts, and all marriage relations properly contracted,
were declared to be legalized, ratified, and confirmed. This
ordinance was passed in August, 1865. But what was the
status of the acts of the "insurrectionary" government dur-
ing the period intervening between the surrender of the
government, on May 22, and the adoption of the ordinance
mentioned? A freedman in Noxubee County was indicted
1 7 Wall. 720.
2 The two exceptions were the law in relation to crimes and misdemean-
ors, and an act of 1863 to enable railroads to pay moneys borrowed by them
from the state before the war.
66 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
for stealing a gun on the 30th of May. After conviction he
moved, in arrest of judgment, that at the time the offence
was committed, the constitution and laws of Mississippi were
suspended, or overthrown and destroyed, by the military
power of the United States, and that no such sovereignty as
the state of Mississippi existed.
The main question for decision was, therefore, whether
Mississippi had any legal or valid existence as a state on
the 30th of May, 1865, and if so, whether the laws of the
state for the punishment of crime, in force prior to Janu-
ary 9, 1861, continued in force after the overthrow of the
Confederacy. The High Court of Errors and Appeals held
that the state of Mississippi on May 30, 1865, was the same
state as that which occupied her territorial limits before
January 9, 1861 ; that the constitution and laws were the
same, except in so far as they had been altered from time
to time by its own act ; that rights of property were to be
governed, contracts were to be construed, and crimes tried
and punished by the same laws that existed before the
adoption of the ordinance of secession. It was declared
that the existence of the state as a sovereign state, de jure
and de facto, had never been interrupted or disturbed by
the ordinance of secession or by the progress or events of
the war, but, on the contrary, all the functions of govern-
ment, executive, legislative, and judicial, continued in full
force and rightful operation. Laws passed during the war
continued in force after the cessation of hostilities, and were
held to be valid and binding during the temporary suspen-
sion of functions consequent upon the occupation of the
territory by the military forces of the United States, and
after the restoration of those functions in October, 1865.
Consequently, offences against the criminal laws committed
during the war, or during the occupation of the state by
the armed forces of the United States, were indictable and
punishable as if those events had never occurred.1
In determining what acts were in " aid of the rebellion,"
the High Court usually took a liberal and just view. One
of the most notable decisions involving this question was the
well-known " Cotton Money " case, decided at the October
term of 1869. In May, 1866, a tender of one of these notes
was made to the sheriff of Hinds County, in payment of
taxes due the state. The sheriff refused to receive it, alleg-
ing that the act under which this currency was issued was
1 Harlan vs. The State, 41 Miss. 566.
THE PEIYATE LAW STATUS DURING THE CIVIL WAR 67
illegal, having been passed by a revolutionary body calling
itself the legislature of Mississippi. The High Court sus-
tained the position of the sheriff, and held that the notes in
question, having been issued at a time of great pecuniary
want to supply a circulating medium, and to furnish the
means by which an empty treasury might be replenished,
were, in operation and in effect, in "aid of the rebellion/'
and therefore illegal and void.1
On the other hand, it was held that an act of the legisla-
ture in 1862, suspending the statute of limitations until two
years after the close of the war, was valid,2 and so was an
act regulating the terms of the High Court.3 Again, it was
held that all deeds or other instruments of writing executed
during the war, although not stamped as required by the
laws of the United States, were valid if properly stamped at
the close of the war.4 A liquor law passed by the " insur-
rectionary " state government was upheld,6 and so was an
act authorizing trustees to invest funds in their keeping in
Confederate securities,6 and an act prohibiting suit against
soldiers in active service.7 Where application was made for
a mandamus, to compel a county treasurer to pay a warrant
of the board of police, issued in 1864 to a sheriff for taxes
overpaid, it was held that the amount overpaid was undoubt-
edly in Confederate money, being taxes for the support of
the rebellion, and should therefore be disallowed.8
In general, all acts necessary to the peace and good order
of society, acts sanctioning and protecting marriage and do-
mestic relations, acts governing descents, and regulating the
conveyance and transmission of property, acts providing
remedies for injuries to persons and property, and many
other similar acts, which would be valid if emanating from a
lawful government, were held to be valid, although proceed-
ing from an unlawful government.
It was several times held that the state government rees-
tablished after the war was not bound by the acts and en-
gagements of the " insurrectionary " government. Thus, it
was said in the " Cotton Money " case that the government
of the state of Mississippi as one of the United States, and
the government of the state as a member of the Confederacy,
were not identical, and the acts and obligations of the latter
1 Thomas vs. Taylor, 42 Miss. 651.
2 Buchanan vs. Smith & Barksdale, 43 Miss. 90.
8 M. & 0. R.R. vs. Math, 41 Miss. 692. 6 Trotter vs. Trotter, 40 Miss. 704.
4 Frazer vs. Daniels, 42 Miss. 121. 7 Walker vs. Jeffreys, 45 Miss. 162.
6 Licks vs. State, 42 Miss. 316. 8 Files vs. Me Williams, 49 Miss. 578.
68 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
government were not ipso facto binding upon any government
subsequently erected in the state ; that the laws enacted and
obligations incurred during the war ceased upon the destruc-
tion of the government which enacted them, and were of no
binding effect upon the government which succeeded. Thus
it was held that the restored government was not bound to
receive treasury notes issued by the " insurrectionary " gov-
ernment,1 nor was it responsible for any claims for salaries
of civil officers in the service of the latter government, its
debts and obligations having perished with it.2 Arrearages
of taxes accruing during the war were not presumed to have
been levied in " aid of the rebellion " ; but where the con-
trary was proven to be the case, they were held to be illegal,
and could not be collected by the restored government.3
In regard to the status of state and Confederate money the
court also took a liberal view. It took judicial notice of the
fact that this currency was the chief circulating medium of
the state during the war, and its use an absolute necessity.
In a case involving this question the court said : " The use of
such money became an absolute necessity of the condition of
the people during the war, for without it they could neither
have lived in the Confederacy nor have made their escape
from it. There was no other means of securing food and
clothing, and to hold that in giving, or receiving it, the peo-
ple in their situation were guilty of an offence against the
paramount law, would be a refinement of cruelty unworthy
of a civilized nation or an enlightened age." 4 In accordance
with this view it was held that where Confederate treasury
notes, Mississippi cotton notes, and Mississippi treasury notes
(military) were placed on deposit with a banker, an action of
indebitatus assumpsit could be brought to recover their value
from the banker who refused to deliver them to the depositor.
Receiving this currency and giving his written promise to
return it upon demand was not lending " aid to the rebel-
lion." Again it was held that where a creditor in 1862 re-
ceived under protest Confederate money in payment of a
debt, he could not subsequently treat the payment as invalid
and recover on his original demand by showing that at the
time of the receipt of the money, military orders required its
acceptance in payment of debts.5 Where an administrator
sold property for cash (Confederate money), and instead of
1 Thomas vs. Taylor, 42 Miss. 651. 4 Murrell vs. Jones, 40 Miss. 565.
2 Buck vs. Yasser, 47 Miss. 531. e Davis us. M. & O. R.R., 46 Miss. 553.
8 Dogan vs. Martin, 48 Miss. 11.
THE PRIVATE LAW STATUS DURING THE CIVIL WAR 69
paying the decedent's creditors, as he might have done, kept the
money until it was worthless, it was held that he was charge-
able with the value of the money at the time of the sale.1 But
it was held to be competent for an administrator in present-
ing his final account to show that the balance in his hands
was Confederate money, and that he could not pay the debts
of the estate with it or loan it to any person on any terms.2
Similarly, where an administrator sold the personal estate
of a decedent, receiving depreciated money therefor, and
could show to the satisfaction of the court that he had been
unable to use any or all of the same, he was chargeable only
with the actual value of the amount on hand, and not used.
Where an administrator sold property of an estate and took
Confederate money in good faith and did not use it for his
own purposes or mix it with his own funds, but kept it as a
separate fund, and could not pay it out either to creditors or
distributors, the administrator was not held responsible for
the loss. If, however, he used the money when he might
have applied it to pay creditors, and did not do so, he was
held to be charged with the value compared with the currency
of the da}^.3 Where a note was given for Confederate money
borrowed in 1862 payable in 1864 in such currency as would
be generally received for debts at time of maturity, it was
held to be an error to instruct the jury directing the value
of the Confederate money to be ascertained at the maturity
of the note. The High Court declared the correct measure of
recovery to be the value of Confederate money at the time of
the loan.4
Where an action of mandamus was brought in 1873 to
compel a county treasurer to pay a warrant issued by order
of the board of police in 1864, for the sum of $75, it was
held that payment in lawful money could be required only
for the equivalent of the Confederate money at the date of
the issue of the warrant.5
The status of contracts made during the war was the
subject of a great deal of litigation during the reconstruction
period. The contracts about whose validity there wasjdoubt
were of three classes : first, those in which the considera-
tion was a slave warranted for life, which slave was subse-
quently emancipated ; second, contracts for services or money
1 Williams vs. Campbell, 46 Miss. 57.
2 Still vs. Davidson, 51 Miss. 153.
8 Moffatt vs. Lough bridge, 51 Miss. 211.
4 Darcy & Wheeler vs. Shotwell, 49 Miss. 631.
6 Clayton vs. McWilliams, 49 Miss. 313.
70 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
in " aid of the rebellion " ; and third, contracts based on
Confederate money.
It was uniformly held by the Mississippi courts that a
contract in which a slave was described as warranted for life,
related only to the legal status of the property at the time
of the warranty, and the contract was not affected by the
subsequent emancipation of the slave by action of the gov-
ernment, and that such emancipation could not be set up in
avoidance of payment of the purchase money of a slave so
emancipated. It was held that the covenant was fulfilled if,
at the time of the sale, the slave was by the then existing laws
of the state in a condition which rendered him liable to
servitude for the period of his life.1 It was also held that a
person sued on a note of this character could not allege as a
defence that he was a citizen of a state in rebellion, was ex-
cluded from the benefit of the President's amnesty proclama-
tion, and therefore not entitled to sue in the courts.2
In regard to the second class of contracts, the court
invariably held that any agreement of whatsoever character
that contemplated the giving of direct aid to the Confed-
eracy was illegal and void. Thus it was held that a
promissory note given in consideration that the payee serve
as a substitute for the maker in the military forces of the
state of Mississippi in the late war was a contract contrary
to the public policy of the United States, directly in " aid of
the rebellion," and therefore illegal and void.3 An agree-
ment to deliver cotton for the purpose of clothing and equip-
ping military camps for the Confederate service was held to
be illegal.4
Again, where the legislature during the war passed an
act permitting the railroads of the state to pay in Confed-
erate notes money which they had borrowed from the state
before the war, it was held to be in "aid of the rebellion,"
and therefore void. The court said the purpose of the act
was plainly to replenish an exhausted treasury, with a view
of subverting the Constitution of the United States ; and
that the money had been loaned by the legal government of
the state, a member of the Federal union, and to that state
alone was the obligation of the roads to repay it, and from
that obligation they were not released by payment to any
other government or authority. The court even refused to
1 Williams vs. Williams, 43 Miss. 430.
2 Wilkinson vs. Eliza Cook, 44 Miss. 367.
8 Pickens vs. Eskredge, 42 Miss. 114.
* Cassell vs. Backrack, 42 Miss. 67.
THE PRIVATE LAW STATUS DURING THE CIVIL WAR 71
admit the claim of credit for the value of the Confederate
money at the time of payment.1 The same view was held by
the court in 1876, when it had become democratic.2 Where,
however, a man loaned money which he knew was wanted
for the equipment of a company of Confederate cavalry, but
without any stipulation to that effect in the contract, it was
held to be a valid contract, and the money thus loaned might
be recovered.3
In regard to the third class of contracts, the Mississippi
courts uniformly held that where the parties were private
individuals the contracts were valid and binding.4 Thus,
where an agreement was made in 1864 to deliver on demand
a certain amount of cotton, and the value of the cotton was
paid to the owner in Confederate money, the latter could
not recover the value of the cotton in lawful money of the
United States.6 All contracts made between May 1, 1862,
and May 1, 1865, for the payment of money were held to
have presumed Confederate money, unless the contrary ap-
peared on the face of the contract ; 6 and where a contract
was made to pay " dollars and cents," it was held to be com-
petent to produce parol evidence to show that Confederate
money was intended, and an administrator in settling his
accounts was not precluded from showing that money de-
scribed as " dollars and cents," and received by him, was in
fact depreciated Confederate money. This was not admissi-
ble, however, where he received other funds than the cur-
rency prescribed by the prevailing law.7 But where, during
the war, a principal placed in the hands of his agent a num-
ber of notes and drafts by their terms payable in United
1 M. & O. R.R. vs. State, 42 Miss. 115.
2 N. O. St. L. & Chicago R.R. Co. vs. State, 52 Miss. 878.
8 Walker vs. Jeffreys, 45 Miss. 162.
4 Frazer vs. Robinson & Daniel, 42 Miss. 121 ; Murrell vs. Jones, 40 Miss.
566 ; Green vs. Sizer, 40 Miss. 530. The Supreme Court of Louisiana as uni-
formly held that contracts founded on Confederate money as a consideration
were illegal. See Schmidt vs. Barker, 16 La. 261 ; the United States Supreme
Court, in December, 1868, held that contracts for the payment of Confederate
money, made during the war between private parties residing in the Confed-
eracy, could be enforced in the courts of the United States after the return of
peace. Such currency, it said, must be considered as if it had been issued by
a foreign government, temporarily occupying a part of the territory of the
United States. Such contracts have no necessary relation to the hostile gov-
ernment. They are transactions in the ordinary course of civil society, and
though they may indirectly and remotely promote the ends of unlawful govern-
ment, are without blame, except where proved to have been entered into with
actual intent to further insurrection. Thorrington vs. Smith, 8 Wall. 1.
6 Beauchamp vs. Comfort, 42 Miss. 94.
8 Cowan vs. McCutcheon, 43 Miss. 207.
7 Rogers vs. Tullos, 51 Miss. 153.
72 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
States currency, the agent having no instructions as to the
kind of currency in which its collections were to be made,
the action of the agent in accepting Confederate money was
held to be wrongful, and he was liable to his principal for
the full amount.1
The legality of business intercourse between citizens of Mis-
sissippi and citizens of that part of the country under the juris-
diction of the United States was another subject of litigation
after the war. It was held that when at the beginning of the
war a life assurance company of New York had an agent in
Mississippi who remained during the war, the war did not
per se revoke the agency, nor make it unlawful for the agent
to receive premiums which were tendered, and a tender of
the premiums saved the assured from being in default as
to payment of premiums. The court furthermore held that
unless it be necessary for their completion that some act be
done calculated to aid and comfort the enemy, partly exe-
cuted contracts, such as life assurance policies on which the
premiums had, up to the war, been regularly paid, were not
annulled by the war, but were suspended until its conclu-
sion.2 And where a citizen of Columbia, Tennessee, and the
owner of a cotton plantation in Tunica County, Mississippi,
entered into a contract with another citizen of Columbia
during the occupation of that place by the Federal forces,
the latter party agreeing to harvest the crop of cotton and
transport it into the United States, with permission of the
military authorities, it was held not to be a violation of the
law, but an intention to comply with it.3 But where a citi-
zen of Jackson, Mississippi, entered into a contract with a
citizen of St. Louis in 1863, it was held that in contempla-
tion of law, they were enemies to each other, and were,
therefore, prohibited from contracting or even holding inter-
course.4 Again, where a citizen of New Orleans in August,
1862, while that city was in possession of Federal troops,
through his agent loaned Confederate money at Jackson,
Mississippi, and took a mortgage on real estate to secure
payment, it was held that the contract was illegal and void
because intercourse between persons was forbidden by the
law of nations, by the act of the United States Congress of
July 13, 1861, and by the proclamation of the President.5
1 McMath vs. Johnson, 41 Miss. 439 ; Bradford vs. Jenkins, 41 Miss. 328.
2 Stratham et al. vs. New York Life Assurance Company et al. 45 Miss. 581.
3 Shacklett vs. Polk, 55 Miss. 376.
* Shotwell vs. Ellis, 42 Miss. 439.
5 Livingston Minns vs. John Armstrong, 42 Miss. 429.
THE PRIVATE LAW STATUS DURING THE CIVIL WAR 73
Where the owner of land in Mississippi removed to Texas
during the war, and left an agent to supervise and carry on
his farm, such agency was not terminated by the Federal
occupation of the territory in which the farm was situated,
and a contract entered into between such agent and the
Federal authorities to carry on the farm and work freedmen
thereon did not terminate the agency or give the agent any
power to defeat the interest of his principal, claiming the
proceeds of the farm, but what he did on the farm, he did as
agent, and the products belonged to the principal.1 The
farm in question was the Choctaw Bend plantation in Boli-
var County. It was held that where a bill of exchange was
drawn and endorsed by parties resident at Lexington, Mis-
sissippi, and accepted by parties residing in New Orleans
after its occupation by the Federal forces in May, 1862, and
transferred to parties in New York, the holders in New York
were prohibited from transmitting to the agent at Lexington.
After the capture of New Orleans, all intercourse between
that city and Lexington, Mississippi, was forbidden by the
force of public law and by the proclamation of the President.2
The effect of the President's Emancipation Proclamation
and the exact date of the destruction of slavery in Missis-
sippi was before the courts in a number of cases. Where on
January 3, 1865, a man gave a note for $250 for the hire of a
slave for one year, and in the course of the year the slave
became free, and the maker of the note asked the court for
an annulment on the ground of failure of consideration, the
court refused to give the desired relief or to pass upon the
question as to when the slave became free.3 At the April
term of 1869 the court was called upon to determine this
question.
The case was an action of assumpsit upon a contract for
hire of some negroes for the year 1863. It was alleged by
the plaintiff that all slaves in Mississippi became free on the
first of January, 1863, by virtue of the President's Emanci-
pation Proclamation, and consequently, the plaintiffs were
not liable for the fulfilment of a contract founded on a false
consideration. The High Court held that the President's
proclamation abolishing slavery was only operative and effec-
tive in that portion of the seceded states which the United
States armies had occupied or might occupy after the proc-
lamation should go into effect. The doctrine that one
1 Shelby vs. Offutt, 51 Miss. 129.
2 Darden vs. Smith, 44 Miss. 548.
» Herod vs. Thigpen, 43 Miss. 102.
74 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
belligerent may, by a mere proclamation or order, change
the status of a person residing in the interior of an enemy's
country, or their rights of property over which the belligerent
has no present power to enforce any order, the court pro-
nounced to be unknown to the law of nations. The rights
of property owners over slaves in Mississippi was not af-
fected by the Emancipation Proclamation. It was therefore
held that the abolition of slavery in Mississippi dated from
the adoption of the ordinance of the convention on that
subject in August, 1865, and not from the proclamation of
the President on January 1, 1863. l
i V. & M. R.R. Co. vs. Green, 42 Miss. 436.
CHAPTER THIRD
PRESIDENTIAL RECONSTRUCTION
I. THE INAUGURATION OF THE PRESIDENTIAL POLICY IN
MISSISSIPPI
THE commissioners having assured the President that his
North Carolina plan of reconstruction would be acceptable if
no better could be had, he at once took steps to put it into
operation in Mississippi by appointing Judge Sharkey pro-
visional governor. It is doubtful if a better selection could
have been made. Judge Sharkey was born of Irish parents
on the river Holston in Tennessee, near the close of the
eighteenth century. He was in General Jackson's army
at the age of fifteen, and was present at the battle of New
Orleans. He attended the common schools of Greenville,
Tennessee, read law at Lebanon, emigrated to Mississippi,
served in the legislature, and in 1833 went upon the bench
as chief justice of the High Court of Errors and Appeals,
where he presided with distinction for more than twenty
years. Before the war, he was a Whig in politics and a
Union man in his sympathies.1 Being a non-combatant
during the war, he escaped the legal penalties which attached
to the action of most of his fellow-citizens, and was therefore
eligible to office under the United States. His appointment
was generally acceptable to the people of the North, although
he was criticised by some for a decision which he had made
years before concerning the status of a mulatto woman who
had married a white man.2
Having no authority to appoint a state governor except
as an exercise of the war power, the President appointed
1 Judge Sharkey had been offered a place in President Taylor's Cabinet in
1848, but declined to accept political office, preferring to remain on the bench.
No judge in the history of the state settled more legal questions or made mor*
authoritative decisions than Sharkey, and his opinions in the Mississippi re-
ports constitute a monument to his legal fame.
2 New York Herald, July 9, 1865.
75
76 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
Judge Sharkey by public proclamation issued in his capacity
as commander-in-chief of the army, and directed that he
should be paid from the executive contingent fund.
The governor, however, said he did not regard himself as
an official of the United States, nor even a constitutional
governor,1 and declined to accept compensation from the
general government, saying that he was able to raise means
at home for the support of his government. He did this
by levying a special tax on stores, saloons, taverns, gaming
tables, restaurants, pedlers, brokers, banking establishments,
and ten dollars on every bale of cotton sent to market.2
The President's proclamation appointing Judge Sharkey
governor declared it to be the duty of the United States to
guarantee to each state a republican form of government,
and in appointing a provisional executive to reorganize the
government of the state, he was but carrying out the con-
stitutional mandate. The proclamation made it the duty of
the provisional governor to prescribe at the earliest possible
moment such rules and regulations as might be necessary
for calling a convention to be chosen by the " loyal " people
for the purpose of altering or amending the constitution.
No person was qualified to vote for a delegate or was eligible
to membership in the convention unless he had taken and
subscribed to the oath of amnesty prescribed in the Presi-
dent's proclamation of May 29, and he must in addition have
been entitled to vote by the law of the state as it existed
prior to January 9, 1861. 3
The military commander of the department and all persons
in the military or naval service of the United States were
directed to aid and assist the governor in carrying out the
purposes of the proclamation, and they were enjoined from
hindering or discouraging the loyal people from organizing
the government. The Secretary of State was authorized to
put in force all the national laws, the administration of which
1 Address before the legislature, Oct. 16, 1865.
2 This tax schedule is printed in the Chicago Tribune of July 28, 1865.
There was considerable objection among the merchants to the tax of $10 per
bale on cotton, and many declined to pay it, whereupon the governor ordered
that it should be doubled in every such instance, and the sheriff was directed
to seize and sell at public auction a sufficient quantity to satisfy the tax. The
receipts during Sharkey's administration were $152,218. The expenditures
were $68,942. New York Times, Aug. 4, 1865.
8 The substance of the oath was to faithfully support, protect, and defend
the Constitution of the United States, and abide by and support all the laws
and proclamations made during the war with reference to the emancipation
of the slaves.
THE INAUGURATION OF THE PRESIDENTIAL POLICY 77
properly belonged to his department, and which were appli-
cable to the state ; the Secretary of the Treasury was directed
to nominate the necessary officers to put into execution the
revenue laws, in each case the preference to be given to loyal
persons residing within the district ; the Postmaster General
was directed to reestablish the postal service ; the district
judge was instructed to proceed to hold courts according to
law ; and the district attorney was directed to libel and bring
to judgment, confiscation, and sale such property as had become
subject to confiscation ; the Secretaries of the Navy and of
the Interior were likewise directed to enforce such laws as
related to their respective departments. On June 13, Secre-
tary Seward notified Governor Sharkey of his appointment,
transmitted therewith a copy of the President's proclama-
tion, together with a copy of the official oath, and informed
him that his salary would be 13000 per year. Sharkey
accepted the appointment reluctantly and with the under-
standing, he says, that he should not be interfered with by
the military authorities in the administration of the civil
government.1 On July 1, he issued a proclamation inform-
ing the people of the state of his appointment, and expressed
a desire to carry out the President's wishes to restore civil
government as speedily as possible. To avoid the delay
which would necessarily result from the separate organiza-
tion of each county by special appointments, he reappointed
by proclamation all officers who were holding at the time
the government property and archives were surrendered to
the military forces, that is, on May 22. Inasmuch as it
was necessary that the offices should be rilled by incum-
bents who were loyal to the government of the United
States, the governor expressly reserved the right to remove
any one who might be an exception in that respect, and he
earnestly invoked the loyal citizens of each county to give
him timely and authentic information in regard to any officer
who was obnoxious to this requirement.
The proclamation directed sheriffs to hold an election in
each county on the 7th of August for delegates to a state
convention to be held at Jackson, August 14. The trustees
of the state university were required to meet at Oxford, July
31, for the purpose of reopening the university. The " un-
precedented amount of lawlessness " in the state claimed the
governor's especial attention. " Crime," said he, " must be
suppressed, and guilty persons must be punished." He said
1 H. Mis. Docs, December, 1868, No. 53, p. 37.
78 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
the commanding general had kindly offered to aid him in
protecting the people and in apprehending offenders against
the law, and he hoped that the people would give him timely
information and render such other assistance as would enable
him to carry out such a laudable object. He advised the
people, when it should become necessary in consequence
of their remoteness from a military post, to organize them-
selves into county patrols for the apprehension of offenders
who, when caught, should be taken to Jackson for safe-keep-
ing. He suggested that perhaps there were some who might
have conscientious scruples about taking the amnesty oath,
because of a belief that the Emancipation Proclamation was
unconstitutional. This objection, he said, certainly could
not be raised with propriety by those who denied that they
were subject to the Constitution as the supreme law when
the proclamation was issued. " Whether it be constitutional
or not is a question which the people have no right to deter-
mine— that rests with the supreme judicial power of the
United States, and until the Supreme Court has acted, the
proclamation must be regarded as valid," he said. " The
people of the South were in rebellion ; the President has
the right to prescribe terms of amnesty — he has done so,
and it is hoped the people will all cheerfully take the oath
with a fixed purpose to observe it in good faith. Why should
they now hesitate or doubt, since slavery has ceased to be a
practical question ? It is the part of wisdom and of honor
to submit without a murmur. The negroes are free — free
by the fortunes of the war, free by the proclamation, free
by common consent, free practically as well as theoretically,
and it is too late to raise the technical question as to the
means by which they became so." He assured his fellow-
citizens that in accepting appointment from the United States
he was actuated by no other motive than a desire to aid the
people in reorganizing a civil government, and he ventured
to suggest that their success in the late war would have
proved to be the greatest calamity that could have befallen
the country, and the greatest to the cause of civil liberty
throughout the world. The proclamation was well received
at the North, and met the approval of all the conservative
men of the state.1
The governor's policy of reappointing all persons who
were in office at the close of the war was the subject of
1 The New York Herald of July 14 said it was excellent, and should be
published throughout all the Southern states. The proclamation is printed
in full in the Herald of the 13th, and in the Times of the 14th.
THE INAUGURATION OF THE PRESIDENTIAL POLICY 79
considerable complaint at the North. The President tele-
graphed him August 22, complaining that reports calcu-
lated to do harm were circulating in " influential quarters,"
and urged upon him the importance of encouraging and
strengthening to the fullest extent the men of Mississippi
who had never faltered in their allegiance to the govern-
ment.1 The governor replied at once to this despatch declar-
ing that he had endeavored both from inclination and duty
to avoid the appointment or recommendation of secessionists.
He assured the President that it had been an indispensable
requisite that applicants should be free from this objection.
He said he had required all officers before entering upon
their duties to take and subscribe to the oath of amnesty, a
copy of which in each case was transmitted to the governor's
office. No one was eligible to office who was not included in
the President's amnesty proclamatipn, unless specially par-
doned by him. In counties where there were no persons who
could take the oath, special appointments were made.
There was no provision in Governor Sharkey's proclama-
tion for the reorganization of the courts, and it was probably
his intention that those already in existence should not
again exercise their functions. At this time the chief sub-
jects of litigation were cotton, horses, and mules. Owners
who had sold cotton during the war to be delivered at a
certain time, refused to deliver it upon the return of peace,
while cotton belonging to innocent persons was seized and
carried away by military authorities or treasury agents. In
all such cases the military tribunals were the only resort.
Often without notice to the adverse party and on ex parte
showing, summary orders were made and enforced. That
grievous wrongs sometimes resulted there can be little doubt.
When the provisional governor entered upon the discharge
of his duties he was besieged by aggrieved parties for relief.
To afford them a measure of relief, he revived by proclama-
tion the replevin acts, and put them into operation. They
provided a summary remedy before two justices of the peace
for recovery of property wrongfully taken or detained. At
1 Relative to his policy of reappointing those already in office, the gov-
ernor testified in 1869 : " I told the President precisely what I should do. I
said : * Mr. President, I cannot taks this position and go there and fill every
office in the state. I will have to do it by proclamation. I will put those
men in office who held office before the war or during the war, reserving to
myself the power to remove them, and if I find them disloyal, I will remove
them.' I appointed nobody to office knowingly who claimed to be a seces-
sionist. I was very careful in this respect." H. Mis. Docs. 3d Ses. 40th
Cong. No. 53, p. 43.
80 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
first these were the only judicial tribunals provided for in
the governor's scheme of jurisprudence. At a time when the
rights of property were the chief subjects of litigation, such
a system of judicature was notoriously insufficient.
Accordingly on the 12th of July the governor, by public
proclamation, created ^ special court of equity to sit at
Jackson with jurisdiction in all contracts for cotton or other
personal property, and with power to proceed in a summary
manner, on petition, to enforce specific performance, or
annul contracts upon due notice to parties concerned. The
court was further empowered to issue processes, punish for
contempt, and appoint a clerk. The governor from time to
time issued orders defining in detail the jurisdiction of the
court, and modifying its procedure. The court seems to
have been very unpopular, arid its legality was attacked on
the ground that the provisional governor had no power to
establish such an extraordinary tribunal, and that it was
unknown to the laws and constitution of the state, and its
proceedings coram non judice and void.1
Another of Governor Sharkey's duties was to see that
every individual who had served the Confederacy should be
given an opportunity to take the amnesty oath prescribed by
the President's proclamation of May 29, unless he was
excluded from its benefits. During June and July, the
military authorities were busy administering the oath, and
those who were entitled to its benefits came up almost with-
out exception, and took it, although to most of them it was
gall and wormwood.2 The oath was required to be sub-
scribed to, and a copy transmitted to the government as a
matter of record. The willingness of the applicant to take
the oath was not regarded as conclusive evidence of his
loyalty, and if the officer had good reason to believe that it
was not being taken in good faith, he might withhold the
privilege.3
1 The Supreme Court at the April term of 1869 affirmed the validity of the
Equity Court and held that the President of the United States, as com-
mander-in-chief of the victorious army, had authority to appoint a provisional
governor and invest him with power to establish such tribunals as in his judg-
ment might be necessary. Scott vs. Bilgerry, 40 Miss. 119.
2 The Jackson Mississippian said that by the time the convention met there
were comparatively few who had not taken the oath. It said : "We regard
it as the solemn duty of every citizen in this trying hour to take the oath,
and not by sullen indifference stand idly by while breakers surround the
ship of state."
3 The following incident is reported to have occurred at Hillsboro in Scott
County while a provost marshal was administering the oath : Prov. Marshal.
You wish to take the oath, do you ? — Applicant. Yes, sir. P. M. Have you
been in the rebel army?— A. Yes, sir. P. M. What was your rank ? — A.
THE INAUGURATION OF THE PRESIDENTIAL POLICY 81
It will be remembered that the President's proclamation
excluded fourteen classes of persons from the benefit of the
amnesty, but permitted them to make special application, and
such clemency would be extended as might be consistent
with the facts of the case, and the peace and dignity of the
United States. In general, the excepted persons were those
who left high official stations under the government of the
United States to serve the Confederacy, those who acted as
diplomatic agents of the Confederacy, or held military office
above the rank of colonel ; those who left the army or navy
of the United States to aid the Confederacy ; those who were
educated at the military or naval academy, and afterward
took up arms against the United States ; " rebel " governors ;
and those who enlisted in the Confederate army, and whose
taxable property exceeded $20,000 in value.1 The majority
of those in Mississippi, who were thus excluded from the
amnesty, belonged to the latter class. The records of the
Attorney General's office show that down to July 1, 1867,
special pardons had been granted by the President to 949
residents of the state. Of these about 800 were persons
worth over $20,000 ; about 90 had been postmasters ; 55,
Federal tax collectors and assessors. The remainder had
been United States commissioners, agents of various kinds,
attorneys, receivers, mail carriers, contractors, etc. Pardons
in every case were granted only upon the recommendation
of some " loyal " person. Many of the recommendations from
Mississippi were made by Governor Sharkey.2
Major. P. M. How much are you worth ? — A. I was rich once, but ain't
worth a cent now. P. M. What has become of your property ? — A. It was
destroyed first by one army and then the other, until it all went except the
land, and there is not a fence or hedge on it. P. M. When did you enter the
rebel army? — A. In 1861. P.M. Voluntarily or involuntarily? — A. I
volunteered. P. M. What was your object ? — A. I was fighting for South-
ern rights. P. M. Have you changed your views since then ? — A. No, sir.
P. M. Then how can you take the oath ? — A. Why, the fact is, I am subju-
gated. P. M. What good will taking this oath do you ? — A. I want to vote
so as to keep down the niggerism suffrage party, and to save my neck. P. M.
Do you feel any real loyalty to the government now? — A (hesitatingly).
I can't say that I do. P. M. If this country were to become engaged in a
war with some European power, and that power should offer the South inde-
pendence, what would you do ? — A. Well, I should act according to' circum-
stances. P. M. But that is not loyalty. I insist on a direct answer. — A.
Well, if I must speak out, I will. I should stand by my state, whichever way
it went. Chicago Tribune of August 25.
1 Richardson, Messages and Papers, VI. p. 312.
2 See Sen. Ex. Docs. 1st Ses. 40th Cong. No. 32 for complete list of persons
in Mississippi to whom special pardons were granted by the President, the
date on which the pardon was issued, and the name of the person in each
case who recommended the pardon, and the class to which the applicant
belonged.
82 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
II. THE RECONSTRUCTION CONVENTION OF 1865
Meanwhile, the attention of the people was directed to
the convention which Governor Sharkey had ordered, and
the canvass for which was now in progress. The chief issue
of the campaign was whether the convention should recog-
nize fully the results of the war and declare the total and
final abolition of all property in slaves, including those owned
by widows, orphans, minors, and loyal persons ; or whether
some form of abolition should be adopted which would make
a distinction between the slave-holders on the one hand who
served the Confederate cause, and those on the other who had
opposed secession, had taken no part in the war, and had
given neither aid nor comfort to the enemies of the United
States. To adopt the first course, would be to cut off all
right of judicial remedy by innocent slave-holders, should
such right of action ever be allowed by the United States in
its courts. The candidates who favored the first course
insisted that it was for the interests of the state to yield to
military necessity and accept, unreservedly, the conditions
imposed by the Federal government. The idea of compensa-
tion for slaves they believed to be delusive. "If," said a
prominent candidate, "we obstinately hold on to the dead
body of slavery in any manner, we shall close and bar the
only door left open for readmission, and by so doing, enable
the radical party at the North — while we are chained down
as a conquered province under military rule — to consummate
the work in which they are now so earnestly engaged, of fas-
tening upon the South the odious principle of negro suffrage.
Everything with us depends upon decided enlightened action
by the great convention soon to assemble at Jackson." l Many
candidates, on the contrary, favored taking no action upon
the question of abolition more than to recognize slavery as
abolished by the United States. They did not purpose to
1 This is the language of Judge Amos Johnston, one of the ablest of
the members of the convention. Chicago Tribune, Aug. 2, 1865. Judge
William Yerger, another candidate, strongly favored unconditional aboli-
tion. He was sanguine enough to believe that it would insure the reestab-
lishment of civil government in the state, the speedy removal of the
troops, and the admission of their senators and representatives to Con-
gress. The New York Daily News of Aug. 7, 1865, contains the views of
Anderson, Johnston, Potter, Robb, and Yerger, on the leading issue of the
campaign.
THE KECONSTRUCTION CONVENTION OF 1865 83
have it appear as a matter of history that the abolition of
slavery was an act of the state government. As a promi-
nent candidate of this persuasion put it : " My own opinion
is that if this great act of oppression is to be consummated,
by which the Southern people are to be deprived of $4,000,-
000,000 worth of property without compensation, it should
be left to be recorded in history as the act of that govern-
ment whose first and highest duty is, as far as its power
extends, to protect and guard with equal care the interests
and rights of the people of each and all of the states, and I
should desire that the people of Mississippi should not by their
action give sanction to this enormous public wrong."1 The
press of the state was divided as between these two views.
Of the two leading journals, the Jackson News and the Clar-
ion, the latter favored an unequivocal recognition of the
results of the war, while the News did not. The Clarion, in
an editorial, published the day before the meeting of the
convention, declared that however reluctant they might be
to yield their right to slaves as property, however much
they might prefer gradual emancipation, no one could deny
the fact that the freedom of the negro was already beyond
cavil, and that no act of theirs could change his destiny.
" We hear of candidates for the convention," said the edi-
tor, "who talk either of ignoring this question or pro-
testing against emancipation and demanding compensation.
Such a course, however proper it might be under other cir-
cumstances, at the present would inevitably result in the
prolongation of military rule in the South, and would very
probably lead to the reorganization of the states on the basis
of negro suffrage. It appears to us to be the duty of the
convention to recognize the situation and at once change the
Constitution to harmonize with this new order of things ;
declare that slavery shall no longer exist in Mississippi,
and let it be done in good faith, without protest or remon-
strance." The Mississippian, another Jackson paper said,
" We think a decided majority of the convention will ignore
quibbling and meet the issue of the hour like men of sense
and candor." 2
The Mississippi convention was the first of the Southern
state conventions to assemble in pursuance of the President's
1 Speech of Fulton Anderson, Chicago Tribune, Aug. 2. Mr. Anderson
said he did not think the taking of the amnesty oath created an obligation
upon members of the convention to vote for the abolition of slavery, and as
for himself, he intended to oppose it with all his power.
2 Quoted in New York World, Aug. 22, 1865.
84 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
plan of reconstruction. Its action was therefore watched
with keen interest by the people of all parts of the country.1
" If," said an influential New York paper, " Mississippi
moves into her place in the Union with a constitution that
will meet the approval of the government, we shall be able
to dismiss all further apprehension concerning the action of
any other Southern state." The convention consisted of one
hundred delegates, all of whom, except two, were able to
qualify. A majority of the members were old-line Whigs,
most of whom had opposed secession in 1861. 2 It was
alleged that only one member, however, had actually op-
posed the power of the Confederacy.3 Seven members had
been delegates to the secession convention, all of whom
except one had voted against the ordinance. Seven were
members of the reconstruction convention of 1868. Gov-
ernor Sharkey called the convention to order and adminis-
tered the amnesty oath to each member. He then laid
before them the following despatch from the President. " I
am gratified to see that you have organized your convention
without difficulty. I hope that without delay your conven-
tion will amend your state constitution abolishing slavery
and denying to all future legislatures the power to legislate
that there is property in man ; also that they will adopt the
amendment to the Constitution of the United States abolish-
ing slavery. If you could extend the elective franchise to
all persons of color who can read the Constitution of the
United States in English, and write their names, and to
all persons of color who own real estate valued at not less
than $250, and pay taxes thereon, you would completely
disarm the adversary and set an example the other states
will follow. This you can do with perfect safety, and you
thus place the Southern states, in reference to free persons
of color, upon the same basis with the free states. I hope
and trust your convention will do this, and, as a conse-
1 The New York Times of Aug. 18 said the proceedings of the Missis-
sippi convention commanded peculiar interest because Mississippi was the
state of Jeff Davis, because it was the second to secede, and because it pro-
duced more cotton than any other state and had nearly as many slaves as
any other.
2 The secretary of the convention says the total number of Whigs was
seventy ; the Vicksburg Herald of Aug. 19 says the number was sixty.
8 The Chicago Tribune of Aug. 29, 1865, said only one member of the
Mississippi convention had up to that time uttered anything that would pass
for union at the North. That member was " Mr. Crawford from the state of
Jones, a county that had seceded from the Confederacy and maintained its
independence throughout the war."
THE RECONSTRUCTION CONVENTION OF 1865 85
quence, the radicals, who are wild upon negro franchise,
will be completely foiled in their attempt to keep the
Southern states from renewing their relations to the Union
by not accepting their senators and representatives." A
committee of fifteen was then appointed to inquire into and
report to the convention such alterations and amendments
of the constitution as were deemed to be necessary to secure
the rehabilitation of the state government.1 Another com-
mittee of fifteen was appointed to report to the convention
such action as was deemed proper and expedient to be taken
relative to the ordinance of secession, and what action should
be taken with regard to such of the legislative and judicial
acts of the state government passed since January 9, 1861,
as were not in conflict with the Constitution of the United
States. Foreseeing that the utterances of the members
would be closely scrutinized by the people of the North, and
knowing that the opinions expressed would be accepted as
indicative of the spirit of the whole South, the convention
determined that its debates should be reported in full and
printed, so as to " vindicate the state from the aspersions
constantly being cast upon her."2
A proposition to memorialize the President for the release
and immediate pardon of Governor Clarke and Jefferson
Davis was the subject of considerable debate. The more
conservative members doubted the expediency of taking
official action on a matter so delicate at that particular time.
The convention had been called for a specific purpose, and
to ask for the immediate pardon of the highest leaders of
the Confederacy was not modesty, to say the least, and might
defeat or embarrass their efforts at reorganization. The
convention was composed largely of men whose political
views were different from those of Davis, yet they had per-
1 Convention Journal, p. 17.
2 Ibid. p. 22. One of the members, an ex-major general in the Confeder-
ate army said : " It is important for us not only that the constitution which
we shall adopt shall show the spirit of our people, but it is also important to
show by the debates the spirit in which those propositions were discussed. It
is necessary that we should show that it is a mistake to suppose that in sur-
rendering we merely did it to gain time, and that there was still a disposition
among the people to carry on the war against the Northern states. It is im-
portant in the present crisis that whatever can, should be done to assure the
conservative people of the North that having first tried the logic of the schools,
and failed in that, and having then resorted to the sterner logic of arms, and
having failed in that also, we are now honestly disposed to return to our alle-
giance, and to make out of the disasters that have befallen us the best that we
can." He thought there was no better way of showing the people of the
North that they were earnest and sincere than by publishing the debates.
Ibid. p. 27.
86 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
sonal sympathy for him, and were willing to take action in
his behalf as private individuals.1 The resolution was finally
withdrawn.
The great question before the convention of 1865 was
that relating to the abolition of slavery. After all, it was
not a question of whether slavery should be abolished, but
how its extinction should be acknowledged. The convention
was unanimous in the opinion that slavery was a thing of the
past. The only question in their minds was whether they
should formally, by constitutional amendment, abolish the
institution as though there had been no war, or whether they
should adopt a resolution recognizing the extinction of
slavery as a result of the war, and saddle the responsibility
upon the government of the United States. In either case,
it would mean the loss of slavery. The latter course would
in a way satisfy their pride, but its expediency in the then
state of feeling at the North was very much questioned.
The committee of fifteen, to whom the matter had been
referred, brought in a report recommending the former
course. It submitted a constitutional amendment declaring
that slavery should no longer exist in the state of Mississippi.
No attempt was made to fix the responsibility upon the gov-
ernment of the United States. On the following day, a sub-
stitute was offered which was the same in substance as that
reported by the committee, but contained a preamble reciting
that slavery had been abolished by the action of the govern-
ment of the United States.2 Three or four members spoke
in favor of the substitute. They contended that slavery had
been destroyed by somebody, certainly not by the will of
the people of Mississippi. To declare slavery abolished by a
convention of the people would be an involuntary act, and
unnecessary. We acknowledge, they said, that it is abolished,
and we are willing to recognize the fact, but we think it due
to the state and ourselves that we should declare how slavery
has been abolished. We all took an oath to support the
Emancipation Proclamation — that proclamation dictates to
us that slavery was abolished by authority of the United
States. The world knows that the government of the
United States assumes responsibility and whatever honor
there may be for wiping away the stain of slavery. It was
due to posterity, they said, that in framing a constitutional
amendment on this point, the circumstances of abolition
1 See speech of J. W. C. Watson, Convention Journal, p. 43.
2 This substitute was offered by Hugh A. Barr, delegate from Lafayette
County. Convention Journal, p. 44.
THE RECONSTRUCTION CONVENTION OF 1865 87
should be distinctly set forth. For the sake of historical
accuracy, they ought not to allow the naked fact of the
abolition of slavery to go forth as the voluntary action of the
people of Mississippi represented in convention, when every-
body knew it was forced upon them by a conqueror.1 The
substitute was laid on the table.2
Several other substitutes were then offered, all of which
sought to fix the responsibility for emancipation upon the
United States. After the rejection of these, a series of
resolutions offered by George L. Potter became the basis for
all subsequent discussion on the subject. They arraigned the
government of the United States for emancipating the slaves
of innocent persons without compensation ; and declared
that the method by which slavery had been abolished was
of doubtful validity, although the people of the state would
recognize it as valid until annulled by the proper judicial
tribunals or otherwise lawfully revoked.3 Potter was one of
the ablest members of the convention, and the leader of the
non-conservatives. He defended his resolutions with some
ability, and insisted that Mississippi was still in the Union
precisely as before the war. He refused to recognize any
power in the general government to dictate to the state
changes in its constitution, and declared that the President
had not exacted in plain terms the abolition of slavery.4
He argued, moreover, that the ratification of the thirteenth
amendment would not satisfy the radicals. Still greater
concessions would be demanded until the whites and blacks
were made equal. In view of this he was unwilling to cut
off all hope of indemnity for the loss of their slaves. Small
as the hope was, he was not willing to destroy it by an
unconditional abolition of slavery, and by that act assume
that the United States would never be just. True, the gov-
ernment could not pay them now, but it might exempt them
from taxation.6 The three ablest men in the convention,
besides Potter, were Judges Watson, Johnston, and William
Yerger, all of whom opposed the resolutions. Judge Watson
declared that the circumstances under which they met to
1 Convention Journal, p. 44.
2 By a vote of 54 to 41. 8 Convention Journal, p. 70.
* He had told the commissioners to Washington that the abolition of sla-
very was a sine qua non to the re establishment of civil government in Missis-
sippi ; he had told a South Carolina delegation that they had better see that
" the friction of the Rebellion rub out slavery " if they desired readmission to
the Union. See also his letter to Governor Sharkey, supra.
6 Potter's speech was published in the Chicago Tribune and other North-
ern papers.
88 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
a great extent impaired their independence and freedom of
action, that they were a conquered people, and the army of
the enemy at that moment occupied their territory, and con-
sequently they had no right to dictate to Congress terms of
readmission to the Union. Judge Johnston pleaded with the
convention to let the institution of slavery go, the question
of compensation — everything, until they could relieve them-
selves and their posterity, and get some little guarantee, at
least, that the children whom they were rearing would have
a land to live in, and the privileges of free men. " What-
ever," said he, "may have been our former glory, we are
now vanquished and helpless, and in the power of the United
States government. Gentlemen talk as if we had a choice,
but we have no choice, and it is no humiliation to admit it.
The only course we can pursue is that dictated to us by the
powers at Washington." He assured gentlemen that none of
them or any of their children would ever again see an Afri-
can slave in this country. The sentiment of the entire civil-
ized world taught them that they were alone in the support
of slavery. He begged his fellow-members to act wisely, and
they might hope for peace.1
By far the ablest speech in the convention was that of
William Yerger, a man of conservative views, and one of the
ablest lawyers that ever practised before the bar in Missis-
sippi.2 He told of his mission to Washington as one of the
commissioners to see the President, of the numerous evi-
dences he saw in the North of the determination of the
people not to be "trifled " with, of the resolution of the Presi-
dent upon the slavery question, and of the peculiar circum-
stances under which they met and were there assembled. In
regard to the views of the President, Mr. Yerger quoted
him as saying : " In the proposed convention to alter and
change the constitution, so as to restore your state to its
1 This speech is printed in the Chicago Tribune ; see also Convention
Journal, p. 95 et seq.
2 Like Governor Sharkey, Judge Yerger was a native of Tennessee, and a
Whig in politics — a fact which practically excluded him from political life
before the war. For a while, however, he occupied a seat on the Supreme
bench with Judge Sharkey. In the celebrated case of Mississippi vs. John-
son, in which the court passed upon the validity of the Union bank bonds,
Yerger, in the face of a popular feeling, violent and proscriptive, stood up
fearlessly and nobly against repudiation, and declared that the state was
legally as well as morally bound to pay the bonds. Although he knew it
would cost him his ermine, he could not be deterred from following his con-
victions. His briefs in the Mississippi reports show that he was well versed in
all branches of the law, and for a number of years he had the most lucrative
practice of any attorney in the state.
THE KECONSTKUCTION CONVENTION OF 1865 89
relations with the Federal government, there ought to be
incorporated an amendment, abolishing the institution of
slavery." This was no order or dictation, only a distinct
admonition, that unless it was done, so far as the executive
was concerned, he would not give the support of the admin-
istration to the restoration of the state government, and they
knew very well that without such support, they could not
resist the overwhelming tide of fanaticism in the North,
clamoring not only for abolition, but for universal suffrage
and the social equality of the negro. Mr. Yerger said that
everywhere on his journey to and from Washington, he made
it his business to ascertain the public sentiment on that ques-
tion, and he had found a fixed and universal sentiment that
the abolition of slavery had been settled by the result of the
war ; in the language of the President, " rubbed out by the
friction of the war." There was no difference of opinion on
that point. He did not hear a single utterance adverse to
that view. He expressed surprise that there were members
who seemed to overlook the fact of the war. Slavery was
dead, and the state was under the absolute military control
of the United States. It was folly to attempt to disguise
the fact. It stared them in the face, wherever they went.
It was palpable to the vision of every man. When they
entered the gates of the capitol for the purpose of deliberat-
ing upon this question, they were compelled to pass armed
and uniformed soldiers, pacing their daily march, and unless
the President had been gracious enough to accord them the
privilege of entering, they could not have done so. There
were no civil courts in operation throughout the length and
breadth of the state. The reign of civil law had given way
to the reign of martial law. Trial by military commissions
had taken the place of the ancient right of trial by jury.
The writ of habeas corpus was no longer a privilege which
they could claim. Almost daily, citizens were being taken
out of the hands of the civil authorities, and tried before
petty military tribunals, because the negro was excluded
from giving testimony in cases in which he was interested.
The question whether the Emancipation Proclamation made
the negro free was an academic question and not a practical
one. No master could institute action of replevin for recov-
ery of his slave, or maintain a writ of habeas corpus for his
recovery. Slaves went where they pleased, untrammelled
and unfettered, and if molested by their former masters, they
might appeal to the military tribunals of the United States
for protection. He closed with an arraignment of the
90 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
system of slave labor, and admonished his countrymen not
to despair, but to look to the future. Although the destruc-
tion of the institution at this time, so suddenly and rudely,
had worked great hardship upon many individuals, and had
resulted in great pecuniary destitution, now that the loss
had been sustained and could not be helped, they ought not
to sit down and repine over the inevitable past, which they
could not control, but look in hope to the future and to those
things which might in some degree give compensation for
what they had lost. "As men of sense, let us endeavor," he
said, " to remedy what we cannot alter, and gather together
whatever may tend to palliate our misfortunes. Of all the
industrial systems, that of slavery was probably the most
costly."1
Yerger's speech was listened to with the utmost attention,
and after he had finished, Potter's resolutions were laid on
the table by a large majority. This done, an ordinance was
adopted by a vote of 87 to 11, declaring that the institution
of slavery, having been destroyed in the state of Mississippi,
neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except in punish-
ment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly con-
victed, shall hereafter exist in the state.2
Thus perished slavery in Mississippi, killed in the house
of its friends, and by those who loved the institution most.
This was the great work of the convention. After all, it
was but an involuntary acknowledgment of a fact already
existing. This recognition might have been made on the
first day of the convention ; but instead, a week was spent
in trying to adopt a resolution which meant nothing. This
act of abolition by the state of course destroyed all hope of
a judicial remedy for the destruction of slave property. It
applied to the widow, the orphan, and the loyal slave-holder,
as well as to the most "guilty rebel." Yet there was a faint
hope that in some good time, when the animosities and pas-
sions engendered by the war had passed away, the govern-
ment of the United States would, in the spirit of justice,
devise some scheme of compensation for the innocent at least.
Few, however, allowed themselves to be seduced by such a
hope, and even the most hopeful soon abandoned it.
The next important task of the convention related to the
action to be taken with reference to the ordinances passed by
the convention of 1861 — whether they should be declared
1 Convention Journal, pp. 145-157. Yerger's speech is printed in the
Chicago Tribune of Sept. 4, 1865.
2 Convention Journal, p. 164.
THE RECONSTRUCTION CONVENTION OF 1865 91
" null and void " ab initio, or whether they should simply be
"repealed" or " abrogated." To declare them "null and
void," it was said, would be to impute to the convention that
framed them incompetency, if not treason. It would dis-
credit the secession convention, and cast a reflection upon
the intelligence and patriotism of not only every member of
that body, but upon every individual who obeyed them.
Those who supported this view held that whether the ordi-
nance of secession was lawful or unlawful, it was, neverthe-
less, an exercise of power by a sovereign state. It created a
de facto if not a de jure government. The ordinance could
no longer be maintained, and therefore the people of the
state desired to see it "repealed," but not declared "null and
void." They were ready to acquiesce in the result, they said,
but they ought not to cast odium upon their predecessors.
It was a common practice for legislative bodies to "repeal"
acts whose constitutionality had been seriously questioned.1
It was strenuously maintained by one of the members that
if secession was not a reserved right, it was at least a right
of revolution, and the ordinance was not, therefore, null and
void, unless the right of revolution was null and void. The
committee to whom the question had been referred, brought
in a report declaring the ordinance of secession " null and
void." The committee said that many of the delegates in the
present convention did not recognize the right of secession,
and had never recognized it, and to repeal the ordinance
would be an admission upon their part that it had some orig-
inal validity, and that the right existed and was recognized
by the constitution. And besides, they said, to acknowledge
the original validity of the ordinance by simply repealing it,
would seriously prejudice their efforts to gain admission for
their representatives in Congress.
Immediately after the reading of the report, an amend-
ment was offered declaring the ordinance to be " of no force
and effect." This was rejected. Another proposed that the
ordinance be declared " null and of no binding force, since,
in a war with the United States, the latter refused to recog-
nize its legality or validity, and the state failed .to main-
tain her asserted sovereignty." 2 Potter proposed to declare
the ordinance "vacated and annulled." The report of the
majority was finally adopted by a vote of 81 to 14.3 After
1 Convention Journal, p. 174. 2 Ibid. p. 179.
8 Ibid. p. 180. The New York Times of August 22 said that the form
in which this declaration was made involved an absolute Abandonment of the
doctrine of secession, and committed the state to the true principle that there
92 EECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
declaring the ordinance of secession " null and void," the
convention, oddly enough, " repealed " the other ordinances
passed by the convention of 1861.
The ordinance of the convention of 1861 to raise funds for
the defence of the state, the " Cotton Money " scheme, was
left for the legislature to take such action upon as it might
deem fit. In pursuance of this act, a large amount of money
had been put in circulation, and for the convention to repeal
it would have been equivalent to an act of repudiation. The
sudden emancipation of the slaves had produced vast condi-
tions which, it was thought, clearly called for some action by
the convention. Offences such as larceny, assault, arson,
and vagrancy were of almost daily occurrence. There was
no state penitentiary in which offenders could be confined
if convicted. The county jails were full to overflowing, and
in nine cases out of ten they would not hold a desperate
criminal twenty-four hours. The committee of fifteen
brought in a report recommending the adoption of a resolu-
tion to punish grand larceny, robbery, rape, arson, and
burglary with death by hanging.1 The report was opposed,
not on the ground of its severity, but because it was said to
be clearly a matter which should be left to the legislature.
The final action of the convention on this subject was the
adoption of an amendment to the constitution, making it the
duty of the legislature at its next session to provide by law
for the protection and security of the person and property
of the freedmen, and to guard them and the state against
any evils that should arise from their sudden emancipation.
The legislature was also empowered to provide by-laws for
dispensing with a grand jury, and authorizing prosecution
before justices of the peace in cases of petit larceny, assault
and battery, affray, riot, unlawful assembly, drunkenness,
vagrancy, and other misdemeanors of like character.
A memorial to the President of the United States in
behalf of Governor Clarke and Jefferson Davis was adopted
by the members in their individual capacity.2 An ineffectual
is no such thing as a withdrawal from the Union, and that it was a full and
final acknowledgment that the Federal Constitution is and of right supreme.
1 Convention Journal, p. 258.
2 The memorial was signed by 4633 women and by all the members of the
convention except about ten, who were absent. The memorial declared that
Governor Clarke was old, maimed in constitution, and wrecked in fortune ;
that Davis was said to be deprived of the privilege of corresponding with his
family and friends, and that he was suffering ill health and threatened with
loss of eyesight. His family was reduced to poverty, resistance to the
authority of the United States was at an end, there was an honest determi-
THE RECONSTRUCTION CONVENTION OF 1865 93
effort was made to have the constitution submitted to the
people for ratification or rejection. The committee reported
that it was inexpedient under existing circumstances. An
attempt was then made to have the abolition amendment sub-
mitted. It was said that if the ordinance of secession had
been submitted to the people, it would have been rejected.
They did not want it to be said in the future that the aboli-
tion of slavery was forced upon the people of the state by
the politicians. The report of the committee, however, was
adopted.
Before adjourning, the convention, in a sort of unofficial
way, nominated Judge Fisher of the Supreme Court for
governor. He was an old-line Whig, and as a member of the
court years before, had decided in favor of the validity of
the Union bank bonds which were afterward repudiated. He
took no part in the war, and upon the reestablishment of Fed-
eral authority in the state, Governor Sharkey recommended
him to the President for appointment as United States dis-
trict judge, but for some reason or other he was not appointed.
While on the eve of adjournment, the convention received
a despatch from the President congratulating them on the
progress they had made toward " paving the way for the
readmission of the state to the Union." He told them that
he would withdraw the troops and restore the writ of habeas
corpus as soon as the state had resumed its " proper position
in the Union." He expressed the confident hope that the
example of Mississippi would be followed by the other
Southern states.1
After a session of ten days, the convention adjourned with
the understanding that it should be called together by the
President if the " exigencies of the country " should require
it. If no such necessity should arise within six months, it
should be adjourned sine die. On the 28th of August, Gov-
ernor Sharkey transmitted a copy of the constitution to the
secretary of State, who at once replied that it would engage
the early attention of the President.
On the whole, the work of the convention was satisfac-
tory to the conservative people of the North. It abolished
nation of the people to return to their peaceful occupations and restore the
prosperity that had once blessed the state. They declared that few of them
"coincided" with Messrs. Davis and Clarke in their political opinions ; that
most of them voted against secession, yet they did not doubt that Mr. Davis
acted upon an honest and sincere conviction that his theory of the govern-
ment was right.
i New York Post, Aug. 25, 1865.
94 BECONSTRUCTIOX IN MISSISSIPPI
slavery, and accorded to the negro certain civil rights, such
as the privilege of bringing suit in the courts and of acquir-
ing and holding real estate. It was a disappointment to some,
that no step was taken to grant the negro political rights, even
in the most restricted form. This afforded the radicals a
pretext for attacking the presidential policy of reconstruc-
tion.1
One of the measures of the convention was the ordering of
an election for the first Monday in October for state and
county officers and representatives in Congress. The ques-
tion of admitting negro testimony to the courts was the lead-
ing issue in the campaign, and candidates were required to
state their positions on this all-important subject. The
Jackson News carried at its mast-head, " This is a white man's
country — President Johnson." "The freedman and the
free negro," said the editor, " must stand on the same foot-
ing." " Negroes as a class must be excluded from the witness
stand. If the privilege is ever granted, it will lead to greater
demands, and at last end in the admission of the negro to the
jury box and ballot box." 2 The Clarion, on the other hand,
was unequivocally in favor of negro testimony, declared that
the question whenever fairly presented had met popular ap-
proval, and that a revolution was taking place in the public
mind which would " astonish " those who were making such
violent opposition to it.3 The majority of the press con-
curred in the view taken by the Clarion, as did the leading
members of the bar.
The election took place October 2. B. G. Humphreys,
a late brigadier general in the Confederate army, was elected
governor over Judge Fisher ; and the party opposed to negro
evidence secured a majority of the members of the legislature,
which, it was said, insured the defeat of Governor Sharkey,
who was now a candidate for the United States Senate on the
negro testimony platform. The party in favor of negro
testimony, however, secured the ablest leaders of the legis-
lature. At the same time, justices of the High Court of
Errors and Appeals and representatives in Congress were
chosen. The new members of the court belonged to the
"original secessionist" party, while the congressmen elect
were all old-line Whigs except one, who was a Union Demo-
1 Sumner, for example, declared that the Mississippi convention was little
more than a "rebel conspiracy to obtain political power." New York
World, Sept. 16, 1865.
2 Quoted in the New York Post of Oct. 28, 1865.
8 Issue of Nov. 19, 1865.
THE RECONSTRUCTION CONVENTION OF 1865 95
crat.1 At the time of Humphreys' election he had not been
pardoned by the President, and in fact had received no assur-
ance that the pardon would be forthcoming in the event of
his success at the polls.2 He had never been regularly nomi-
nated as a candidate, but was brought forward in an informal
way, and elected by his army comrades over the regular nom-
inee, whose chief weakness had been his indifference to the
success of the Confederacy. The result of the election was
unfavorably regarded at the North, and was cited as an illus-
tration of the popular preference for ex-Confederates as against
Union men.3 Humphreys had been a Whig before the war, and
seems to have done what he could to prevent the adoption of
an ordinance of secession, but when secession became a fact,
he went with his state, according to the prevailing view of
allegiance in the South. Although the President was dis-
appointed at the defeat of Fisher, upon the recommenda-
tion of Governor Sharkey, he sent Humphreys a pardon
in the first week of October. About the same time ex-
Governor Clarke was released from confinement. The
proclamation releasing him announced that the authority
of the Federal government was sufficiently restored in
Mississippi to admit of his " enlargement from custody,"
and directed that he be discharged on parole to appear at
such time and place as the President might designate, to
answer any charge preferred against him. Permission was
given him to reside in Mississippi until further orders. He
was informed that should the President see fit later on to
grant him a full pardon, his parole would be discharged.4
About the same time the President restored the privilege
of the writ of habeas corpus, which had been suspended
since December, 1863.
Governor Humphreys, having received his pardon, had
himself inaugurated governor on the 16th of October, al-
though for some time he was not recognized by the govern-
ment of the United States as the real executive. Pardons
1 Testimony of Governor Sharkey before reconstruction committee. The
defeat of General Freemen in the Holly Springs district and Sylvanus Evans
in the Vicksburg district was alleged to have been due to the fact that they
favored the admission of negro testimony to the courts.
2 When urged to become a candidate, Humphreys said : " I am yet an un-
pardoned rebel. I have taken the amnesty oath and forwarded an applica-
tion for a special pardon, and am desirous of renewing my allegiance to the
United States, although the President may not be equally as desirous of restor-
ing me to the rights of citizenship." New York World, Sept. 9, 1865.
8 New York Tribune, of Oct. 9, 1865.
* The proclamation is printed in Savage's Life of Johnson, p. 95.
96 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
continued to be sent to Governor Sharkey for distribution,
and he remained, as before, the medium through which the
official correspondence between the United States and the
state of Mississippi was carried on. The day after the inau-
guration, Sharkey telegraphed Seward that his successor had
been duly elected and installed as governor, that the other
state officers had qualified, that the legislature was in session,
and the civil government of the state was in fact complete.1
The Secretary of State promptly replied that it was the
expectation of the President that he should continue his
functions as provisional governor until further notice from
the department.
On November 17, the President telegraphed confirming
Seward's despatch, and informed Governor Sharkey that his
services as provisional governor were not yet dispensed with,
and that he should continue to perform any and all the
functions of that office, and report from time to time what
progress was being made by the legislature. The governor
was furthermore requested to make such suggestions from
time to time as he might deem proper. The President
admonished him before retiring to have the Thirteenth
Amendment ratified by the legislature, and such laws enacted
for the protection of freedmen in person and property as
justice demanded. He was urged to use his influence with
the legislature to secure the admission of negro testimony in
the courts. " I do hope," the President wrote, " that the
Southern people will see the position they now occupy, and
will avail themselves of the favorable opportunity of once
more restoring civil government." Governor Sharkey was
requested to show the despatch to Governor-elect Humphreys,
whom the President now seems to have recognized as a sort
of quasi governor.
III. CONFLICTS BETWEEN THE CIVIL AND MILITARY
AUTHORITIES
Governor Sharkey's powers were somewhat vaguely de-
fined. His functions were partly civil and partly military.
In some respects he was a United States officer, in others a
state officer.2 The state was still held and occupied as con-
1 Correspondence of Provisional Governor Sharkey, op. cit. p. 78.
2 The Supreme Court of the state subsequently held that Governor Sharkey
was a United States officer. Scott vs. Bilgerry, 40 Miss. 119. He was regu-
larly commissioned by the President, and official communications were trans-
THE CIVIL AND MILITARY AUTHORITIES 97
quered territory. The military commander of the Department
of Mississippi had been instructed to cooperate with and aid
Governor Sharkey in the performance of his duties, but in
no instance to interfere with him. The existence of martial
law, the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, and what was
practically a dual executive — one civil, the other military, —
necessarily led to confusion and conflicts. From the time of
the surrender of the civil government on May 22 until June
13, when Governor Sharkey took charge, the administration
of civil affairs was entirely under the supervision of the
military authorities. At the time of the surrender of the
archives, Major General Peter J. Osterhaus was commander
of the Department of Mississippi. On the day Governor
Sharkey assumed control, General Osterhaus divided the
military district of Mississippi into five sub-districts, each
being put in charge of a sub-commander.1 On June 23,
General Osterhaus was superseded in command of the De-
partment of Mississippi by Major General W. H. Slocum,
United States volunteers, with headquarters at Vicksburg.2
General Slocum continued in command during the remainder
of Governor Sharkey's administration, and was superseded by
General Thomas J. Wood on November 14, 1865. 3
During the first weeks of Governor Sharkey's administra-
tion, the military and civil authorities came into conflict.
The conflict arose from the action of General Osterhaus in
forcibly taking a man from the custody of a civil magistrate,
while the former was undergoing trial for shooting a negro
taken in the act of robbery.
General Slocum proceeded to try the offender by a mili-
tary commission, and when a circuit judge attempted to
release him on a writ of habeas corpus, Slocum not only
disregarded the writ, but had the judge arrested in true
Jacksonian style.4 Governor Sharkey complained to Secre-
tary Seward that the judge in question was an appointee of
the provisional governor, and was competent to try the slayer
mitted to him through the Department of State. The majority report of the
reconstruction committee says the duties of the provisional governor were
ancillary to the withdrawal of the military forces.
1 Official Records, op. cit. p. 990. The sub-districts were as follows :
I. Southwest Mississippi, headquarters Vicksburg ; II. Northwest Mississippi,
headquarters Grenada ; III. Northeast Mississippi, headquarters Okolona ;
IV. East Mississippi, headquarters Meridian ; V. Southeast Mississippi, .
2 Ibid. p. 1039.
8 Report of Secretary of War, 1866-1867, p. 60.
4 The judge who was arrested for issuing the writ denounced the act as
not only a violent and strong-handed injustice to him as an officer acting
above personal and political considerations, but a blow by the mailed hand
98 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
of the negro ; that the law under which he acted made no
distinction between the killing of a negro and a white man ;
and that if the military authorities had jurisdiction in such
cases, they might try all offences, and consequently there
would be no necessity for civil government. He furthermore
denied that martial law existed in the state, and declared
that if it had ever existed, the President's proclamation ap-
pointing him provisional governor, and his declaration that
the military should aid, and not interfere with, the civil
authorities, in effect abolished it. Slocum justified his course
upon the practice of the civil authorities in prohibiting negro
testimony in the courts, and declared that so long as he re-
mained in command of Mississippi, and until the laws of the
state admitted their testimony to the courts, negroes should
be placed under the protection of the United States, and
such cases as the one in question should be referred for
settlement to the military tribunals.1 Slocum's position
was approved by the President, who informed Governor
Sharkey that he saw no reason for interfering, and that the
government of the state would be provisional only, until the
civil authorities should be restored with the approval of Con-
gress. Four days later Seward wrote, saying, " Upon due
consideration the President is of the opinion that it is inex-
pedient to rescind the suspension of the writ of habeas cor-
pus. Anarchy must in any case be prevented, as the process
of reorganization, though seemingly begun very well, never-
theless is yet only begun." 2
There were other cases of conflict between the military and
civil authorities like the one described. In every instance,
the offence alleged was committed by a white man against
a negro. The whites claimed the right to be tried accord-
ing to the laws of the state, and not by military commis-
sions.3 On July 25 an order came from the War Department
of military power against civil authority in the exercise of its most valued
and hitherto most respected function. The following was Stanton's order :
" WASHINGTON, Aug. 13, 1865.
"MAJOR GENERAL SLOCUM: Colonel Samuel Thomas, assistant commis-
sioner of the Freedman's Bureau, has been directed to turn over to you a man
who had been arrested by his order for shooting a negro. You will receive
the man into your custody, cause him to be tried before a commission, and
carry its sentence into effect. If any efforts be made to release him by habeas
corpus, you are directed to disobey the writ and arrest the person issuing it
or attempting to execute it, and report for further orders. By order of the
President. (Signed) E. M. Sx ANTON, Secretary of War."
— From Chicago Tribune, Sept. 28, 1865.
i Ex-Docs. No. 26, 1st Ses. 39th Cong. p. 55. 2 Ibid. p. 60.
8 The Jackson Daily News, in a fiery editorial, demanded to know who
THE CIVIL AND MILITARY AUTHORITIES 99
directed to General Slocum, who had in the meantime suc-
ceeded to the command of the Department of Mississippi,
instructing him to proceed at once with the trials, by
military commissions, of all persons charged with " capital
and other gross assaults" upon colored soldiers of the army,
and to prosecute, promptly and vigorously, all similar cases
of crime in the department. The Secretary of War declared
that because the President had accorded a provisional gov-
ernment to Mississippi, the fact should not be allowed to
abridge or injuriously affect the jurisdiction heretofore prop-
erly assumed by military courts in that region during the
war. Especially was the continued exercise of that jurisdic-
tion called for in cases of wrong or injury done by citizens to
soldiers, and in cases of assault upon, or abuse of, colored citi-
zens generally. " Where, indeed," ran the order, " the local
tribunals are either incapable or unwilling to do full justice or
properly punish offenders, Mississippi is still, to a very con-
siderable extent, under the control of the military authorities.
The rebellion, though physically crushed, has not been offi-
cially announced or treated either directly or indirectly as a
thing of the past, the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus
has not been terminated, nor has military law ceased to be en-
forced in proper cases, through the agency of military courts
and military commanders in all parts of the country." Here
was a distinct definition of the status in Mississippi.
A more notable instance of disagreement between the civil
and military authorities arose from the attempt of Governor
Sharkey to organize the state militia. On August 17, he
issued a proclamation calling upon the people of the state
to organize under the militia laws a force for the apprehen-
sion of criminals and the suppression of crime. He declared
that parties of bad men had banded themselves together
in different parts of the state for the purpose of robbing
and plundering, that outrages of various kinds were being
perpetrated, and that the military force of the United States
within the state was insufficient to protect life and property.
He especially urged those who were liable to military service,
and who were familiar with military discipline, to organize in
each county, if practicable, at least one company of cavalry,
and one of infantry, as speedily as possible. He most ear-
was the governor of Mississippi — Sharkey, Slocum, or Osterhaus. It pro-
tested against the "repeated and outrageous assumption of Osterhaus," and
called upon Governor Sharkey to resign if he were not sustained. The peo-
ple were indignant, said the editor, that lie should be made the puppet of
United States military authorities. Quoted by the Chicago Tribune of Sept.
4, 1865.
lOO RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
nestly appealed to the young men of the state who had so
distinguished themselves for gallantry in the late war, to
respond promptly to a call in behalf of a suffering people.1
On the next day, there appeared in the Jackson papers
a call to the young men of Hinds and Madison counties
to meet at certain designated places on the 22d and 24th
of August, to organize companies and elect officers. General
Osterhaus, commander of the sub-district in which these
counties were situated, informed Governor Sharkey that he
was in duty bound to prohibit all military organizations not
recognized as a portion of the United States army unless
formed under special authority of the War Department or
of Major General Slocum. He declared that the number of
troops in Hinds and Madison counties was amply sufficient
to give the civil authorities all the assistance they might
need to suppress crime, if the civil authorities would only
cooperate sincerely with the military authorities by furnish-
ing them information promptly and voluntarily.2 Governor
Sharkey, replying to the letter of General Osterhaus on the
22d, expressed great regret that he should have felt com-
pelled to take that view of the case, and begged to remind
him that for twelve or thirteen consecutive nights, passengers
travelling between Jackson and Vicksburg in the stagecoach
had been robbed at places within a few miles of his head-
quarters. In addition to these robberies, the governor
declared that information reached him daily of outrages
committed in various parts of the state where there was
no military force. He declared that the people were con-
stantly calling upon him for protection which he could not
give, and it was the purpose of his proclamation to afford
them a means of relief. " If further justification," said he,
" were needed, I may say that in the last interview I had
with the President, in speaking of anticipated troubles, he
stated distinctly to me, that I could organize the militia if
it should become necessary." He thought the necessity
was now manifest, claimed the authority of the President
for his action, and until his instructions were changed, he
said he should feel it his duty to carry out the line of policy
adopted.3
1 His proclamation is printed in Appleton's Ann. Cyclop, for 1865, p. 682.
2 Report of Carl Schurz, Sen. Docs. 1st Ses. 39th Cong. No. 2, p. 104.
8 The Chicago Tribune said that Sharkey's plan virtually proposed to
reorganize the rebellion army after the loyal army had been disarmed and
disbanded, and would enable them to drive every Northern man out of the
state, make the condition of the freedmen intolerable, and revive a reign of
terror. Issue of Sept. 13, 1865.
THE CIVIL AND MILITARY AUTHORITIES 101
Carl Schurz, who was visiting the state at the time as a
special commissioner of the President, telegraphed to Wash-
ington, protesting against the organization of the militia as
proposed by Governor Sharkey. A military force, he insisted,
made up of the young men who had fought in the ranks of the
Confederacy, organized independently of the United States
forces, would be superior in strength to the latter, and would
be certain to bring about collisions between the white militia
and the colored troops, and thereby increase in a tenfold
degree the difficulties that beset the people. The President,
too, seems to have doubted the expediency of this policy, al-
though he had given Governor Sharkey to understand that
he might organize the militia in certain contingencies. On
the 21st of August, the President telegraphed Governor
Sharkey to call upon General Slocum whenever he needed
military authority to preserve order and suppress crime.
He was advised not to organize the militia until further
advances were made in the restoration of state authority.
The President promised the governor that the military
should be withdrawn, and the right of habeas corpus should
be restored at the earliest possible moment it was deemed
safe to do so.1 To this, the governor replied on the 25th,
that the failure to organize the military would leave them
in a helpless condition, that General Slocum had no cavalry,
and not force enough to protect the people, and that his
negro troops did more harm than good when scattered
through the country.2 On the 24th, General Slocum cut the
Gordian knot by issuing the somewhat notorious General
Order " No. 22 " in which he described the " herculean
efforts " of Mississippi for four years to overthrow the gov-
ernment of the United States ; declared that she had been
compelled through sheer exhaustion to submit to the national
authority ; that the duty of preserving order and executing
the laws and orders of the War Department devolved upon
the military authorities ; that Governor Sharkey had not
thought proper to consult with the War Department relative
to his course ; and that the proposed organization of the
young men would be certain to increase rather than lessen
the difficulties that beset the people. It was therefore
ordered that district commanders give notice at once to all
persons within their respective districts that no military
organizations except those under control of the United
1 Correspondence of Governor Sharkey, Sen. Docs. 1st Ses. 39th Cong.
No. 26, p. 229. 2 Ibid. p. 230.
102 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
States would be permitted within their respective commands,
and all attempts to organize the militia would be arrested.
The order declared that most of the crimes had been com-
mitted against Northern men, government couriers, and
negroes, and that henceforth, when an outrage of this kind
was reported, a military force would be sent to the locality,
and every citizen within ten miles of the place where the
crime occurred would be disarmed by the officer in com-
mand. Any citizen who possessed information that would
lead to the capture of the criminal, and who refused to
divulge it, should be arrested and held for trial.1
In the meantime, the President had telegraphed General
Schurz, saying that he presumed General Slocum would
cause no order to be issued interfering with Governor
Sharkey's efforts to restore the functions of the state govern-
ment without first consulting the United States government,
and giving his reasons for the proposed interference. He
expressed the belief that there could be organized in each
county a force of citizens to suppress treason, preserve order,
enforce the civil authority of the United States, and enable
Congress to reduce the army, and thereby diminish the enor-
mous expenses of the government. " If there is any danger,"
said he, " from such organization for the purpose indicated,
the military are there to detect and suppress on first appear-
ance any movement insurrectionary in its character." He
declared that one of the great objects to be sought in the
work of restoration was to induce the people to come for-
ward in the defence of the state and the Federal government.
The people must be trusted with their government, and if
trusted, he believed they would act in good faith and restore
their former constitutional relations with the Union. The
proclamation authorizing the restoration of the state govern-
ment of Mississippi required the military to aid the provi-
sional governor in the performance of his duties. It in no
way authorized the military to interfere or throw impedi-
ments in the way of consummating the object of his appoint-
1 This order is printed in Appleton's Ann. Cyclop, for 1865, p. 582. The
substance of it appears in Schurz's report and Sharkey's correspondence
cited above. This emphatic stand of the general made him popular at the
North, and he was immediately brought forward by the New York Democrats
as a candidate for Secretary of State. The Chicago Tribune commenting
upon the proposal to nominate him, said : "His overriding of Governor
Sharkey would make him a strong candidate. General Orders, No. 22, en-
titles him to membership in full standing in the Union party simply on the
score of its eminent fitness and unquestionable propriety." Issue Sept. 11,
1866.
THE CIVIL AND MILITARY AUTHORITIES 103
ment without advising the government of the intended
interference.1
Governor Sharkey now telegraphed the President official
notice of General Slocum's action, and called his attention to
their last interview. General Slocum, he said, had thought
fit to issue an order to prevent such organization, and to
arrest those who attempted it. " There is a condition," said
the governor, " that must be settled, and it rests with you to
do it. I wish to be able to vindicate myself when trouble
comes, as we apprehend it will." 2 By way of reply the Presi-
dent, on August 30, telegraphed Governor Sharkey a copy of
the despatch previously sent to Carl Schurz. The governor
asked for permission to publish the despatch, which was
readily granted, although the President said it was not
originally intended for publication.3 On the same day an
order was sent from the War Department directing General
Slocum to revoke his proclamation interfering with the organ-
ization of the militia.4 On September 4, General Orders
No. 23, published from the headquarters of the Depart-
ment of Mississippi, countermanded the order previously
issued to prohibit the organization of the militia. This ended
the controversy so far as Sharkey and Slocum were con-
cerned. The citizens of the state were naturally jubilant
over Sharkey's triumph and Slocum's discomfiture.5 Slocum
was equally humiliated and threatened to resign — a course
which he was strongly urged to pursue by many in the
North, who thought his further continuance would be dis-
honorable to his profession. The organization of the militia
accordingly proceeded, and was not interfered with until 1867,
when it was disbanded in pursuance of the reconstruction
acts which abolished all militia organizations in the Southern
states.
1 The telegram to Schurz is printed in the Chicago Tribune of Aug. 13, 1865.
2 Sharkey's correspondence, p. 231.
8 Chicago Tribune, September 12.
* The order is printed in the Chicago Tribune of Sept. 12, 1865. It is as
follows : —
" WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, Sept. 2.
"MAJOR GENERAL SLOCUM: Upon the 19th of August Governor Sharkey
issued a proclamation calling for the formation of militia companies in each
county to detect criminals, punish them, and preserve good order in places
where the military forces of the United States were insufficient. If you have
issued any order countermanding this proclamation or interfering with its
execution, you will at once revoke the same. Acknowledge the receipt of
this order, and telegraph your action.
" By order of the President of the United States.
"T. T. ECKERT, Secretary of War.""
5 Chicago Tribune, Sept. 12, 1866.
104 BECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
The charge that the militia in its efforts to suppress crime
did not always proceed according to due process of law seems
not to have been entirely without foundation. By a procla-
mation of November 3, 1865, Governor Humphreys warned
militia commanders that it was their duty to aid the civil
authorities in the suppression of crime, and not to take the
law into their own hands and act as judge and jury. Op-
pression, he said, toward any class of the people was con-
trary to law and to good policy.1
A constant source of friction between the civil and military
power was the presence of negro troops in the state.2 Many
and earnest were the appeals to the President to order their
removal and the substitution of white troops. There was a
natural feeling of humiliation on the part of the whites in
being ordered about by negro troops, and it was alleged,
moreover, that poor discipline was maintained among them,
and that they sometimes even plundered and robbed the citi-
zens.3 A noisy, boisterous squad of colored troops on the
public square of a village never failed to arouse the angry
passions of the whites, and often led to altercations.
On the 25th of August the President telegraphed Governor
1 The proclamation is printed in the New York Times of Nov. 19, 1865.
The Holmesville (Miss.) Independent of Dec. 3, 1865, contains a proclamation
by a militia commander complaining that certain persons not belonging to
any regularly organized militia company were shooting negroes on "private
account." The order was widely circulated by the opponents of the militia,
•who said it was a virtual admission that shooting negroes was an exclusive
prerogative of the militia.
2 The mustering out of the Sixteenth Corps at Vicksburg on August 1 left
only a few white troops in the state. The President, on Jan. 5, 1866, informed
the House of Representatives that there were 39 white commissioned officers
in the volunteer service in Mississippi and 338 negro officers, and that the total
number of enlisted men was 1071 whites and 8784 blacks, making a total of
10,193. There were no regular troops in the state. Ex. Docs. 1865-1866, No.
71, p. 3.
8 This allegation seems to have been partly sustained by the testimony of
District Commander General Wood. In his report he says : " The diffusion of
troops at many posts under inexperienced and negligent commanders, more
especially if the posts occupied are surrounded by a large population of citi-
zens, is one of the greatest enemies to efficiency and discipline. Looseness of
discipline leads to many and useless conflicts with the citizens, and many
complaints from the latter of outrages and lawlessness on the part of the
troops are the necessary consequence." Report Sec. War, 1866-1867, p. 51.
An example of their treatment of the whites was the action of a com-
pany at Raymond in suspending a United States flag over the sidewalk and
compelling the school children to pass under it on their way to and from
school. Hinds County Gazette, Oct. 28, 1865.
A negro officer while on a public mission in Summit, Pike County, had
the brass buttons and shoulder straps cut from his coat in broad daylight by
two white men who gave him an hour to leave the town. Report of J. H.
Mathews, Sub. Com. 1st Ses. 39th Cong. p. 146.
THE CIVIL AND MILITARY AUTHORITIES 105
Sharkey in regard to negro troops " which seem to be produc-
ing so much dissatisfaction," that the government did not
intend to irritate or humiliate the people of the South, but
would be magnanimous and remove the cause of their
complaint at the earliest period practicable.1
Sharkey's successor seems to have regarded the removal
of negro troops as the chief end of his administration. He
represented to the President that the negro garrisons " did
infinite mischief by misrepresenting the purposes and inten-
tions of the state government, and by circulating reports
among the freedmen that the lands would be divided among
them, and by advising them not to work for their late
masters." 2 He said, " I have yet to learn that United
States troops are needed in Mississippi to restore order.
On the other hand, I have found them a disturbing element,
a nuisance, and a blighting curse to the quiet and happiness
of both races."
The governor finally sent a special commission to Wash-
ington " to lay before the President the condition of affairs
as regards negro troops and the danger of insurrection"
among them, to secure if possible their removal, and to pro-
cure arms for the state militia.3 In reply to a memorial of
the legislature, the President wrote on November 14 to the
governor-elect that the troops would be withdrawn from
Mississippi when, in the opinion of the government, peace,
order, and the civil authority could be maintained without
them. " Every step," said he, "will be taken while they are
there to enforce strict discipline and subordination to the
civil authority, and there can be no greater assurance than
has really been given."4
The conduct of the white officers who generally com-
manded the negro troops was not always above reproach, and
they were, to some extent, responsible for the conduct of the
private soldiers. General Wood reported that one of the
chief sources of complaint from the white citizens was the con-
duct of the white officers in neglecting their duties to " dab-
ble " in cotton alleged to have belonged to the Confederacy.
1 Correspondence of Provisional Governor Sharkey, p. 60.
2 In reply to a remonstrance from the provisional governor of South Caro-
lina, Seward wrote on the 26th of August informing him that the colored sol-
diers were soldiers in the United States army, and that no discrimination
founded on color was intended or could be made by the government in the
assignment to service. Cor. Prov. Gov. Sharkey, 116.
8 House Journal, 1865, p. 376.
4 Savage's Life of Johnson, Appendix, p. 107.
106 EECONSTEUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
The abuse became so great that he was compelled to issue an
order forbidding the officers from engaging in the traffic.1
It was also a general complaint that white officers inflamed
the minds of the negroes by making " incendiary " speeches
to them. They advised the negroes not to work for their
old masters unless assured of good wages, and to resist by
force every infringement of their rights and liberties. The
commander of a colored regiment at Jackson is alleged to
have told an audience of negroes that they must defend their
rights even to the " click of the pistol, and at the point of the
bayonet." 2 The President was deluged with representations
of this nature from private citizens, from the governor, and
from the legislature. On November 17 he wrote in reply to
an appeal for the removal of negro troops : " The people of
Mississippi may feel well assured that there is no disposition
on the part of the government to dictate arbitrarily what
action should be had ; but, on the contrary, to supply and
kindly advise a policy that it is believed will result in restor-
ing all the relations which should exist between the states
comprising the Federal union."
" It is hoped that they will appreciate and feel the sugges-
tions herein made, for they are offered in that spirit which
should pervade the bosom of all those who desire peace and
harmony, and a thorough restoration of the Union. There
must be confidence between the government and the states,
and while the government confides in the people, the people
must have faith in the government. This must be mutual
and reciprocal, or all that has been done will be thrown
away." 3
Early in January, General Wood was asked by the com-
manding general if, in his opinion, the number of troops in
Mississippi could be reduced consistent with a due regard to
the enforcement of the laws, the preservation of order, and
the protection of life, liberty, and property. General Wood,
in reply, recommended the withdrawal of seven of the negro
regiments.4 The authority to muster them out was imme-
1 Report of Secretary of War, 1866-1867, p. 51.
2 New York Herald, Nov. 13, 1865. The Jackson News, commenting on
this address, declared it to be of such a character as would have secured a
coat of tar and feathers, if nothing more, in times past. " We are entitled,"
it said, " to peace, and we demand the removal of the negro troops from our
midst. We hope this matter will be fully investigated, and if the United
States cannot and will not protect us from such outrages, we must protect
ourselves." Quoted in Chicago Tribune of Nov. 17, 1865.
8 New York Herald Nov. 26, 1865.
* Report of General Wood in lieport of Secretary of War, 1866-1867, p. 52.
THE CIVIL AND MILITARY AUTHORITIES 107
diately granted, but before they could be collected at the
points at which the mustering out was to take place, an
order was received from the War Department suspending
the former order, and directing that they be retained in the
service to work on the levees of the Mississippi. Under this
arrangement, the colored regiments remained in the service
until February, but were never called for by the officer in
charge of the work. About the middle of March they were
mustered out, greatly to the satisfaction of the white inhabit-
ants. In the month of April, an order came directing Gen-
eral Wood to muster out the remaining negro regiments, and
by the 20th of May, 1866, all negro troops in Mississippi had
been removed. This left but one small battalion of regular
infantry.
The governor took great pleasure in congratulating the
legislature in October on the removal of the negro troops,
and the transfer of the Freedmen's Bureau to the control of
officers of the regular army. The whites were now, he said,
relieved from the "insults, irritations, and spoliations to
which they were so often subjected," and the negroes from
the " demoralization which was fast sinking them into habits
of pauperism, idleness, and crime."
In February, through the influence of General Wood, the
district organization of the state was abolished, and post
commanders were required to report direct to the depart-
ment commander, the records of the district being at the
same time transferred to Vicksburg. General Wood was
anxious to simplify the somewhat complex military organi-
zation then existing, for he believed that he could thereby
maintain better discipline. He had the Department of Mis-
sissippi abolished in August, 1866, and the state erected
into a command called the district of Mississippi, with five
companies of troops at Vicksburg, one at Natchez, one at
Jackson, and one at Grenada. To enforce rigid discipline
and to prevent outrages on the citizens and unnecessary
conflicts with them, he ordered troops to remain in their
camps and cantonments when not absent on duty, and to
receive tactical instruction twice a day of not less than one
hour at each lesson. These, and other regulations of Gen-
eral Wood, brought about an improvement in discipline and
a reduction in the number of complaints of outrages. His
administration in Mississippi was the subject of favorable
comment by the press of the state.1 He advised the freed-
1 The Clarion of Feb. 11, 1860, said : " It is gratifying to record the pleas-
ant fact that we have for a department commander one who is so universally
108 BECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
men in counties not permanently under martial law to
resort to the civil courts for a redress of their grievances.
At the same time the civil authorities were informed, respect-
fully but firmly, that state laws making discriminations
between citizens on account of color and race could not be
enforced, and that all prosecutions or suits growing out of
events connected with the late war were strictly prohibited.
The higher executive and judicial officers of the state, as a
rule, admitted the justice of his order, and as a consequence,
no serious conflicts between the civil and military occurred.1
In December, 1866, Governor Humphreys applied to
General Wood for permission to disarm the freedmen of
the state in conformity with the state law prohibiting them
from carrying arms without special licenses. It was cur-
rently believed that there was to be a negro insurrection
about Christmas time. The freedmen had conceived the
notion that the government intended to divide the lands of
their late masters among them as a sort of Christmas present.
Governor Humphreys believed that when the negroes dis-
covered their mistake, they would rise against the whites
and inaugurate a general massacre. General Wood, believ-
ing that there was no ground for this apprehension, and
regarding the state law prohibiting freedmen from bearing
arms as unjust and unconstitutional, declined to give his
kind to our people and considerate of their rights. We are convinced that
the principles that animate him are of the purest character, and that he has at
heart the honor and welfare of the whole nation." The Vicksburg Herald
said that he had proved himself to be a high-toned and fair-minded gentleman
in his dealings with the citizens, while he had never been remiss in the duties
he owed to the government.
1 Correspondence of Governor Sharkey, p. 64. General Wood in his
report said: "Most of the suits or prosecutions prohibited by military
orders or laws of the United States and of cases arising under the laws of
the state making discriminations on account of race or color, have been
adjusted either by equitable decisions in the state courts, or by transfer,
under the act of Congress approved May 11, 1866, to the courts of the United
States, and I think it is not going too far to say that substantial justice is
now administered throughout the state by the local judicial tribunals to
all classes of persons, irrespective of race or color, or antecedent political
opinions. It is unfortunately too true that many outrages and crimes have
been committed by the vicious and criminal upon the weak, and that these
crimes have in many cases gone unpunished. But when it is remembered what
a terrible social, political, and military convulsion the nation has passed through
in the war of the Rebellion, when it is borne in mind what a vast population
of slaves was suddenly emancipated by the violence of war, and that the late
slaves now occupy as freed people the very same soil, in the closest juxtapo-
sition to the formerly dominant class, on which the two races lived in the
relation of master and slave, it should not, perhaps, be a matter of surprise
that so many outrages and crimes occur and go unpunished, but rather a mat-
ter of marvel that so few occur."
THE STATUS OF THE FREEDMEN 109
assent to the proposed disarmament. He informed the gov-
ernor, however, that his request should be submitted to the
President for such action as he might choose to take.
General Wood's position was sustained by the President.
Governor Humphreys then issued an order directing the
state militia not to attempt to enforce that statute.1
IV. THE STATUS OF THE FREEDMEN
The suggestion of President Johnson that, if the Missis-
sippi convention could extend the elective franchise to per-
sons of color who were able to read the Constitution of the
United States, and to those who owned real estate of a
certain amount, it would " completely disarm the adversary,"
does not appear from the published debates to have received
any attention whatever from that body. It is highly prob-
able that the unanimous sentiment of the convention was
against the idea of political rights for the negro in any
form. But his freedom being accomplished, it was necessary
to confer upon him the civil rights incident to such freedom,
one of which was the right to testify before the courts. It
will be remembered that at this time negro testimony was
not allowed in the civil courts, not even in cases in which
the negro was a party litigant, although it was a common
law right.2 " On account of this it was alleged to be difficult
to convict white men of maltreating negroes, and conse-
quently the military authorities of the United States had
adopted the practice of removing all cases in which negroes
were involved, from the civil courts to military tribunals
under the management of the Freedmen's Bureau. This
was a source of great irritation to the whites. The bureau
officials were charged with abusing this power, and in some
cases they, no doubt, screened black criminals from just
punishment.3
1 Correspondence of Governor Sharkey, p. 54. General Wood took occa-
sion to say that during his administration of military affairs in Mississippi
the civil governor heartily cooperated with him in every effort to secure
the restoration of law, order, and prosperity among the people, and for the
enforcement of strict and impartial justice to all classes.
2 It appears that the first official to admit negro testimony in his court was
the mayor of Vicksburg. His action was the subject of a great outcry upon
the part of those opposed to negro evidence, and the Jackson News demanded
that Governor Sharkey remove him from office.
8 General Slocurn had to issue an order to correct alleged abuses of this
kind. Sen. Docs. 1st Ses. 39th Cong. p. 19.
110 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
On September 20, Colonel Samuel Thomas, assistant com-
missioner of the Freedmen's Bureau, proposed to Governor
Sharkey to transfer to the civil authorities the right to try
all cases in which the rights of freedmen were involved, upon
condition that the judicial officers and magistrates of the pro-
visional government would take for their mode of procedure
the laws then in force, except in so far as they made a dis-
tinction on account of color, and allow negroes the same
rights and privileges as were accorded to white men before
the courts. This meant that they were to have the rights
of bringing suit and of giving testimony.1 Governor Sharkey
informed Colonel Thomas that in his opinion the negro could
already sue and be sued in any court of the state as a result
of the action of the convention in abolishing slavery, one
incident to their right of person and property guaranteed by
the Constitution of the United States being their competency
to testify before any court of justice.2
On September 25, Governor Sharkey issued a proclama-
tion reciting Colonel Thomas's proposition, and expressed a
belief that the abolition of slavery carried with it the aboli-
tion of all laws which constituted a part of the system and
established principles of slavery, a fact which entitled the
negro to sue and be sued, and to testify in the courts. In
order, therefore, to secure to the people of the state the right
of trial before their own officers and under their own laws,
rather than by military tribunals and by military law, he
ordered that in all civil and criminal trials in which the
rights of freedmen were involved, either for injuries done
their person or property, or in matters of contract, their tes-
timony should be received, subject to the rules of evidence
as regarded competency and credibility in the case of white
witnesses. He announced his acceptance of Colonel Thomas's
proposition, and requested that no freedman's court should
thereafter be organized, and that those already in existence
be closed, and instructed to transfer the cases pending before
them to the civil authorities.3
1 Chicago Tribune, Oct. 12, 1865.
2 Sharkey's letter to Thomas is published in the Chicago Tribune of Oct.
10, 1865.
8 Chicago Tribune, October 12. The Tribune of October 6 announced
that the mayor of Vicksburg, a "secessionist," was allowing negro testi-
mony in his courts, and had agreed to impose the same penalties on the
whites as on the negroes, whereupon the bureau officials were instructed to
interfere in no case with the city officials in the discharge of their duties,
but to turn over to them all cases in which the rights of negroes were
involved.
THE STATUS OF THE FREEDMEN 111
Sharkey's arrangement with Colonel Thomas was not very
popular with the whites, who, as much as they disliked to
be tried before military courts in their controversies with
freedmen, disliked still more the admission of negro testi-
mony to the civil courts, which it was believed would
practically destroy their usefulness. There was, however, a
comforting thought among the opponents of negro testimony,
namely, that the " bargain " between Sharke}^ and Thomas
had only temporary force, and the legislature soon to be
elected might set it aside. As already pointed out in another
connection, this was the principal issue in the campaign for
the election of state and local officers. It was also pointed
out that those opposed to negro testimony secured a majority
of the seats in the legislature. It remained now to see what
policy the legislature would pursue. It met October 16, and
on the same day Humphreys was inaugurated. With regard
to the status of the freedmen he said in his inaugural :
" The highest degree of elevation in the scale of civiliza-
tion to which they are capable morally and intellectually
must be secured to them by education and religious training ;
but they cannot be admitted to political or social equality
with the white race. It is due to ourselves and to the white
immigrants invited to our shores, and it should never be for-
gotten to maintain the fact, that ours is and it shall ever be,
a government of white men." He urged that the state deal
justly with them, but that they should be required to choose
some employment that would insure the maintenance of them-
selves and families, and that they should be compelled to ful-
fil their labor contracts.1 On the 20th, he sent in a message
in which he declared that the people of Mississippi, under
the pressure of Federal bayonets, and urged on by the mis-
directed sympathies of the world in behalf of the African,
had abolished slavery, and had solemnly enjoined upon the
state legislature through their state constitution the duty of
providing for the protection and security of the person and
property of the freedman, and of guarding him and the state
against any evils that might arise from his sudden emancipa-
tion. The negro, he said, was free, whether the people liked it
or not, but freedom did not make him a citizen or entitle him to
political or social equality with white men. The Constitution
and justice, however, did entitle him to protection in his per-
son and property, for which there could be no sure guarantee
1 The inaugural address is printed in Appleton's Cyclop, for 1865, and in
the New York Herald of October 29.
112 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
without an independent and enlightened judiciary. "The
courts, therefore," he continued, " should be opened to the
negro, and he be permitted to testify and introduce such
testimony as he or his attorney may deem essential to estab-
lish the truth of his case. It is an injustice to our courts
and juries to say that they will not protect innocent white
or black men from false testimony and the perjury of black
witnesses."1
The President's views in regard to the status of the f reed-
men were well known to the governor and the legislature.
It is clear from the President's correspondence with Sharkey
that the grant of political as well as civil rights in a limited
form to the negro was a part of his policy of reconstruction.
As early as the 21st of August he had urged Sharkey to
have the convention ratify the Thirteenth Amendment, or
recommend it to the legislature for ratification. He advised
" promptness and circumspection " on this point, and de-
clared that the proceedings in Mississippi would exert a
powerful influence on the other states which were to act
afterward.2 But notwithstanding the well-known wishes
of the President, the governor failed to say anything con-
cerning the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment, which
no doubt would have gone very far toward securing favorable
action upon it, and consequently the success of the presiden-
tial policy of reconstruction.
After listening to the governor's message, the legislature
received the report of the special committee appointed by
the convention to prepare such laws and amendments as
might seem expedient in view of the abolition of slavery.
The committee reported that its labors had been made diffi-
cult by the incorporation among them of a large class of
freedmen afflicted with " poverty of mind, poverty of thought,
1 Relative to Humphreys' message on negro testimony the New York
Times of December 3 said : " The recommendations are sensible and practi-
cable, but were made with a wry face and with bad grace. He accepts the
abolition of slavery fully and without reserve, but could not avoid saying it
was done under pressure of Federal bayonets." The message is printed in
full in the Chicago Tribune of Nov. 30, 1865, and in the New York Times of
Dec. 3, 1865.
2 Again, on the first of November, the President telegraphed Governor
Sharkey that " The action of the Mississippi legislature is looked forward to
with great interest at this time, and a failure to act will create the belief that
the act of your convention abolishing slavery will hereafter be revoked. The
argument is, If the convention abolished slavery in good faith, why then
should the legislature hesitate to make it a part of the Constitution of the
United States ?" He told the governor that he trusted in God that the legis-
lature would adopt it and make the way clear for the admission of senators
and representatives to their seats.
THE STATUS OF THE FREEDMEN 113
poverty of means, poverty of self-government, poverty of
energy, and rich in idleness with all their miseries."
The committee declared that it had "labored earnestly to
secure justice, employment, labor, income, reward, home, com-
fort, security, health, sobriety, good morals, and protection
to person and property." The report recommended a series
of measures by means of which it was hoped to meet " the
alarming condition brought about by the emancipation of
the colored race.'5 " While some of the legislation," the
report declared, "might seem rigid and stringent to the
sickly modern humanitarians, it could never disturb or
retard the good and true of either race."1
The legislature at once took up the recommendations of
the governor and the committee, and pursuant to the spirit
of both, passed a number of acts concerning the freedmen
which have come down to us under the name of the " Black
Code " of 1865. It is for the enactment of these measures
that the legislature of 1865 is best known. One of these
was an act to regulate the relation of master and apprentice
as it related to freedmen, free negroes, and mulattoes. This
act made it the duty of the civil officers to report to the pro-
bate courts of their respective counties, semi-annually, all
negroes under eighteen years of age who were orphans, or
who were without means of support, and the court was
required to apprentice them, their former owners being
given the preference when in the opinion of the court they
were suitable or competent persons. Males were to be
bound until they were twenty-one years of age, females,
until eighteen. Masters were empowered to inflict moderate
chastisement for misbehavior. They were entitled to judi-
cial remedy for recovery of runaway apprentices, and it was
made a penal offence to entice or persuade apprentices to
run away.2
An act to prevent vagrancy provided that all freedmen,
free negroes, and mulattoes in the state over the age of eigh-
teen years, found on the second Monday of January, 1866, or
thereafter, with no lawful employment or business, or found
unlawfully assembling themselves together either in the day
or night time, together with all white persons so assembling
with them on terms of equality, or living in adultery or
fornication with negro women, should be deemed vagrants,
1 The report was written by the chairman, Mr. Hudson of Yazoo. It is
printed in full in the Chicago Tribune of Oct. 26, 1865.
2 Pamphlet Acts of 1865, p. 86.
114 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
and upon conviction should be fined, in case of a negro, not
exceeding $50, and in case of a white man, not exceed-
ing $200, and in addition, be imprisoned at the discre-
tion of the court, not exceeding ten days for the negro,
and six months for the white man. Jurisdiction was
conferred on all justices of the peace, mayors, and aldermen
to try offenders against this law without a jury. Upon the
failure of the convicted party, if a negro, to pay within five
days the fine imposed upon him, the sheriff was to hire him
out for a sum equal to the amount of the fine. If the
offender could not be hired out, he was to be treated as a
pauper. It was also made the duty of the Board of Police
in every county to levy a poll-tax not exceeding $1 on
each negro between the age of eighteen and sixty, the
sum to constitute a freedmen's pauper fund to be expended
exclusively for the colored poor. Failure to pay the tax was
to be deemed prima facie evidence of vagrancy, and it was
made the duty of the sheriff to arrest the offender and hire
him out for the amount of the tax plus the costs.1
An act to confer civil rights on freedmen gave them the
right to sue and be sued, to implead and be impleaded in all
the courts of law and equity of the state, to acquire and hold
personal property and dispose of it as white persons, but it
was expressly provided that they could not rent or lease land
except in incorporated towns or cities where the corporate
authorities were empowered to control the privilege. They
were given the right to marry in the same manner, and
under the same regulations as white persons, provided that
the clerk should keep a separate record of their marriages.
All negroes who had cohabited together, as husband and
wife, were to be held as legally married, and their issue as
legitimate. Intermarriage between whites and negroes was
punishable by life imprisonment in the penitentiary.2 The
right to testify in the courts was granted freedmen, but only
in cases in which they were a party, either as plaintiff or
defendant, and in all cases their testimony was to be made
subject to the rules and tests of the common law, as to com-
petency and credibility. By another provision, they were
1 Pamphlet Acts of 1865, p. 90.
2 The first instance of intermarriage between the races in Mississippi
occurred at Jackson in June, 1866. It was the case of a negro man and a
white woman. They were tried in the circuit court, found guilty, and sen-
tenced to imprisonment in the county jail for six months, and to pay a fine of
$500 each. The military officers looked on with interest while the judge com-
mented upon the depravity of the woman, but they did not interfere. Hinds
County Gazette, June 22, 1866.
THE STATUS OF THE FREEDMEN 115
required to have a lawful home or employment, and written
evidence thereof, by the second Monday in January, follow-
ing, and annually thereafter. If living in an incorporated
town, freedmen were required to obtain a license from the
mayor, if in the country, from a member of the Board of
Police, authorizing them to do irregular job work, which
license might be revoked at any time for good cause. All
contracts with freedmen, for labor for a longer period of time
than one month, were required to be made in writing, and in
duplicate to be read to the freedman before an officer, or two
disinterested white persons of the county, and if he should
quit the service of his employer before expiration of his con-
tract, without good cause, his wages for the time he had
served were to be forfeited. Civil officers were required to
arrest freedmen who should run away from their contracts,
and carry them back to the place of employment. For mak-
ing the arrest, the officer was to be entitled to $5.10 per mile
for each mile intervening between the place of arrest and the
place from which the offender escaped, the sum to be paid
by the employer and held as a set-off for so much against
the wages of the deserter. Attempts to persuade freedmen
to quit the service of their employers were punishable by a
heavy fine. Other stringent provisions were adopted to com-
pel colored laborers to fulfil their contracts.1 Another act
prohibited them from carrying firearms, dirks, or knives.
For disturbing the peace by engaging in riots, practising
cruelty to animals, making seditious speeches, using insulting
language or gestures, or for exercising the functions of a
minister without a license from a regularly organized church,
a fine of not less than ten or more than a hundred dollars
was imposed, and the offender was liable to imprisonment not
exceeding thirty days.2
The legislation in regard to freedmen was completed by
the reenactment of all the penal and criminal laws applying
to slaves, except so far as the mode and manner of trial and
punishment had been altered by law. This legislation cre-
ated a storm of opposition in the North. The various acts
were printed entire in many newspapers, and severely com-
mented upon by editors.3 It was said that their enforcement
i Pamphlet Acts of 1865, p. 82. * Ibid. p. 165.
8 The Chicago Tribune of Dec. 1, 1865, said, relative to this legislation:
'* We tell the white men of Mississippi that the men of the North will convert
the state of Mississippi into a frog pond before they will allow any such laws
to disgrace one foot of soil in which the bones of our soldiers sleep and over
which the flag of freedom waves."
116 BECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
would mean a reestablishment of slavery in another form.
The reenactment of the old slave code, they said, was a return
to slavery pure and simple. The vagrant act applied only
to negroes. Only the negro was required to have a home
within a certain time. It deprived him of the ancient right
of trial by jury. Offences that had no relation to idleness,
as the non-payment of taxes, for example, were denominated
vagrancy, and punished as such.
Such was the Northern view of the legislation of 1865.
The unpopularity of this legislation was not confined to
the North. The sentiment in favor of it was by no means
unanimous in Mississippi. The Clarion, the most influential
journal perhaps in the state, regarded the action of the legis-
lature as in many respects "unfortunate," and expressed the
hope that the legislature possessed patriotism and wisdom
enough to correct the mistake.1 The Vickslurg Herald said
the legislature had failed to do its duty, and the convention
should be reassembled.2 Petitions with this end in view
came to the president of the convention from many parts of
the state. The Columbus Sentinel characterized those re-
sponsible for these measures as a " shallow-headed majority
more anxious to make capital at home than to propitiate the
powers at Washington." "They are," said the editor, "as
complete a set of political Goths as were ever turned loose
to work destruction upon a state. The fortunes of the whole
South have been injured by their folly." 3 Judge Campbell
expressed the opinion that some of their acts were " foolish," *
and Judge Watson declared that they went "entirely too
far " in the matter.6
Prohibiting the freedmen from renting land outside of
towns and cities was clearly unwise. Moreover, the move-
ment of negroes to the towns and cities was one of the
special complaints of the whites at this time, and yet,
strangely enough, their legislation, instead of encouraging
the freedmen to rent land in the country, tended to drive
them to the towns, where they must suffer from idleness, vice,
and disease. It would clearly have been the part of expedi-
ency to allow them not only to rent land, but to acquire
homes and own real estate in the country. The constitution
of 1865 invested the freedmen with the right to acquire and
hold property without any qualification or limit as to kind
or character, and in some instances the local courts refused
1 Issue of Jan. 7, 1866. 2 Issue of Dec. 4, 1865.
* Quoted by the Hinds County Gazette of Dec. 23, 1865.
* Boutwell Report, 1876, p. 933. 5 Ibid. p. 1000.
THE STATUS OP THE FREEDMEN 117
to be bound by the acts of the legislature. Allowing them
to testify only in cases in which they were parties seems to
have been unwise. If they were competent witnesses either
for the prosecution or defence in cases in which either
plaintiff or defendant was a white man and the other party
a negro, there was no good reason why they should not have
been permitted to testify when both parties were white.
This was not only illogical, but worked positive inconven-
ience and injury to white litigants. In cases in which both
parties were white, negro testimony was not allowable,
although it might have been the only evidence available.1
Manifestly such legislation at this time was folly. Those
who were responsible for it assuredly did not understand the
temper of the North.2 It was such legislation as this, begun
in Mississippi and adopted in other Southern states, that led
the radicals, when Congress met in December, to set aside
President Johnson's reconstruction measures. It gave them
a pretext to subvert the partially reconstructed state gov-
ernments and remand the South to despotic military rule.
They cited this action as proof sufficient that the South had
not accepted the abolition of slavery in good faith, and it
doubtless led some conservative Republicans to adopt the
view that immediate negro suffrage was a political necessity.
1 Chief Justice Campbell, as good a lawyer as ever wrote a brief in Missis-
sippi, while on the circuit bench, was one of the first judges to admit negro
testimony in his court. In October, 1865, a white man was convicted of mur-
der in his court by a white jury upon negro testimony. The judge in pro-
nouncing sentence delivered an opinion that completely demolished the
arguments of those who criticised his action. He said : " The idea that it is
dangerous to admit negro testimony against whites, and that combinations
among freedmen to fabricate false testimony will result in unjust convictions,
will be dissipated in the mind of every sensible man who calmly reflects on
the fact that it is usually difficult to convict of crime even on the testimony
of whites, and that a jury of white men with all their knowledge of negro
character, jealousy of caste, and prejudice against this innovation in the law
of evidence, and a white judge with a court house crowded with white spec-
tators, with white men as attorneys on both sides, will not be likely to be
deceived and duped into improper convictions." His full opinion in this case
is printed in the New York Times of Oct. 11, 1865. Sharkey and Alcorn,
the two senators-elect, upon invitation delivered addresses before the legisla-
ture, and admonished the members that it was a matter of policy and justice
that the negro should be allowed to testify, and warned the legislature that
if they refused him the right, the United States government would extend it
to him. New York Herald, Nov. 6, 1865.
2 S. S. Cox, one of the conservative Democratic leaders in Congress during
reconstruction times, said : " It is surprising that the intelligent men of Mis-
sissippi could have persuaded themselves, after the terrible experience through
which they had passed, that the triumphant North, now thoroughly imbued
with the anti-slavery sentiment, would for a moment tolerate this new slave
code." Three Decades, p. 395.
118 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
However, something should be said in explanation of these
measures. The sudden emancipation of the slave population,
and the too generous course of the government in furnishing
them with the means of subsistence during their idleness, not
only deranged the labor system of the South, but demoralized
the colored laborers to such a degree that to the planters
of the state in 1865 the outlook was disheartening. The
freedman was made to believe that liberty meant license,
that as he had been freed from slavery by a powerful gov-
ernment, he would also be clothed and fed by it whether he
chose to labor or not. He was told by unscrupulous Freed-
men's Bureau agents and negro soldiers that he ought not to
work for his former master for any promise of compensation,
that his freedom was not secure so long as he remained on
the old plantation, and that the government in due time ex-
pected to confiscate the land of the late masters and divide
it up among the slaves. As a result, the freedmen left the
plantations and moved to the towns or military camps, re-
fusing to make contracts or to fulfil them when made. The
amount of robbery and larceny was alarming. The farmer's
swine were stolen for pork, his cows were penned in the
woods and milked, and his barns and cotton houses were
broken open.1
If he was fortunate enough to procure laborers to plant
his fields, he had no assurance that they would remain with
him until the crop was harvested. In fact, it was almost cer-
tain that they would not. The legislature was made up for
the most part of small planters, none of the able members of
the convention having been chosen to seats in it. There was,
however, a respectable minority of able men who made unan-
swerable arguments against such legislation. One of these
was Judge Simrall, subsequently a justice of the Supreme
Court. The time was unpropitious for calm and deliberate
action. The condition of things seemed to demand the im-
mediate adoption of measures to check the demoralization of
the freedmen, and compel them to labor. Laws were passed,
most of which, when impartially enforced, as they generally
were, did not work injustice to the negro. Their purpose
was to force him to cease his roving and become a producer.
The law against vagrants was not more severe than those of
1 Cotton stealing was so prevalent that the legislature passed an act at this
session making it unlawful in some counties to send cotton to market except
in bales, or to buy cotton after dark. If brought in bags it was prima facie
evidence of being stolen cotton. Other measures were provided for checking
the crime. See act of November 25, Laws^of 1865, p. 168.
THE STATUS OF THE FEEEDMEN 119
many Northern states.1 The refusal of the legislature to
accord the negro civil and political rights was, of course,
due to prejudices and traditions which constituted a part of
the very fabric of Southern society, and the sudden banish-
ment of which was not an easy task.
On the 30th of November, General Howard telegraphed
the assistant commissioner of the Freedman's Bureau that
as long as the bureau remained in Mississippi it would con-
tinue to protect the freedmen in the right to lease lands, and
that the act of the legislature denying them the right was
not recognized at Washington as valid. He directed, further-
more, that an investigation be made in all cases where freed-
men were arrested for violation of the above law, and the facts
be reported to Washington, in order that prompt redress
might be afforded. Thereupon the governor sent Judges
Yerger and Acker to Washington, to lay before the Presi-
dent the measures of this legislature relating to freedmen,
and to request him to indicate such as the military authori-
ties would be allowed to disregard. He informed the legis-
lature, October 1, 1866, that the President had assured him
that none of the acts should be nullified except by the courts
of law.
1 At the time this legislation was enacted the statutes of Wisconsin denom-
inated as "vagrants" all idle persons who had no visible means of support,
and all persons wandering abroad and not giving a good account of them-
selves, or who begged bread from door to door. Vagrancy was punishable
by imprisonment not exceeding ninety days. Revised Statutes of 1878,
p. 465.
The New York statutes denominated such persons as ** tramps," and upon
conviction they were to be imprisoned at hard labor in the nearest peniten-
tiary for a period not exceeding six months. Revised Statutes of 1881, Vol.
III. p. 1898.
In Maine all persons who refused to work, or who had no ordinary calling
or lawful business, were required to be sent to the workhouse. All vagabonds
or idle persons going about begging in town or country, or neglecting their
calling or employment, or misspending what they earned and not providing
support for themselves and families, were imprisoned not exceeding six
months. Revised Statutes of 1871, p. 260.
In Massachusetts the laws against vagrancy were almost identically the
same as in Wisconsin. If any difference, they were more severe. Supp. to
Gen. Stats. Vol. I. 1860-1872, ch. 235, p. 510.
In Indiana any person, male or female, over fourteen years 'of age, who
had made no reasonable effort to procure employment, or who had refused
to labor and was found begging from door to door, was subject to a fine of
$5(). Going about begging and asking subsistence was vagrancy. Revised
Statutes of 1881.
In Connecticut all idle persons who had no means of supporting them-
selves, all beggars who wandered abroad from place to place without lawful
business, and all who misspent what they earned, were subject to impris-
onment at hard labor not exceeding sixty days. Revision of 1866, ch. 4,
p. 642.
120 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
The legislature not only declined to confer upon the freed-
men such civil and political rights as the President had
advised, but refused to accept the requirements of the con-
gressional policy. On December 4, the joint standing-com-
mittee on state and Federal relations, to which had been
referred the documents and resolutions relative to the pro-
posed Thirteenth Amendment, brought in a report in which
it was declared that the first and main article of the amend-
ment had already been adopted by the state of Mississippi,
in so far as her own territory was concerned, and was a
part of her constitution in almost the same language as the
proposed amendment ; that it was not possible for the state
by any act or in any manner to change the status of the
slave as fixed by the convention ; that slavery had been
abolished in good faith ; the state would abide by it, and
consequently the adoption of the proposed amendment could
have no practical effect in Mississippi. The chief objection
was the second section, which empowered Congress to enact
the appropriate legislation to carry the first section into
effect. Slavery having been totally abolished, they said they
could see no necessity for this second provision. Slavery
existed legally nowhere in the United States except in
Kentucky and Delaware, and the Thirteenth Amendment was
not necessary to coerce the people of those states to abolish
it. Moreover, they said, the second section contained a
dangerous grant of power by the states at a time most
unpropitious for enlarging the powers of the Federal govern-
ment. Besides, it was unwise and inexpedient to reopen a
subject which would afford a theme for radicals and dema-
gogues to use against the best interests of the country, and
Mississippi was unwilling to give her deliberate consent to
leave any question open from which further agitation could
arise. The question of slavery being settled in all the states
except two, the public mind should be withdrawn from a
subject " so irritating in the past, and the door as effectively
closed against all future agitation as it was possible for
human wisdom to do." Such was the argument against the
ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment.
The report concluded : " Connected as the provisions are,
a ratification of the first and a rejection of the second would
be inoperative and of no effect, therefore the rejection of
both is recommended." The report was adopted.1 This
1 The Vicksburg Herald of November 9 asked : " Shall Mississippi ratify
the Thirteenth Amendment? We answer, No! ten thousand times, no!"
The editor was willing that the section abolishing slavery should be ratified,
THE STATUS OF THE FREEDMEN 121
was the second step in the defeat of President Johnson's
plan of reconstruction. The proposed Fourteenth Amend-
ment met the same fate the following year. The governor in
transmitting it to the legislature said it had been proposed by
a Congress of less than three-fourths of the states, in "pal-
pable violation " of the rights of more than one-fourth of the
states ; that it was an " insulting outrage," and a denial of
the equal rights of so many worthy citizens who had shed
glory and lustre upon their race and section, both in the
forum and in the field ; that it was such a gross usurpation of
their rights that a mere reading of it would cause the legis-
lature to reject it. He recommended its rejection, and the
legislature unanimously adopted the recommendation.1
Governor Sharkey, who had asked to be relieved from the
duties of provisional governor at the time of Humphreys'
inauguration on October 16, was informed by Seward on
the 14th of December that the time had come when, in the
judgment of the President, the care and conduct of affairs
in Mississippi might be remitted to the properly constituted
authorities, chosen by the people thereof, without danger to
the peace and safety of the United States.
He was instructed to transfer the papers and property of
the state, then in his custody, to Governor Humphreys. The
President acknowledged the fidelity, loyalty, and discretion
which had marked the governor's administration. On the
same day, the President sent a despatch to Governor Hum-
phreys tendering him the cooperation of the United States
government, whenever it might be found necessary in effect-
ing the early restoration and the permanent prosperity and
welfare of the state of Mississippi. This completed the
reconstruction of the state according to the presidential
policy.
but not the section empowering Congress to enact the legislation necessary
to carry into effect the first.
1 Senator-elect Sharkey, in a letter to Humphreys, dated Washington,
Sept. 17, 1866, advised against the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment
on the ground that it had not been proposed by two-thirds of the Congress of
the United States. New York Herald, Oct. 6, 1866.
CHAPTER FOURTH
THE ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF RECONSTRUCTION
I. ECONOMIC PROBLEMS
As a result of the events described in some of the preced-
ing chapters, one would naturally not expect the economic
outlook to have been very encouraging at the beginning of
reconstruction. The people were generally impoverished ;
the farms had gone to waste, the fences having been
destroyed by the armies or having decayed from neglect ;
the fields were covered with weeds and bushes ; farm imple-
ments and tools were gone ; live stock had disappeared so
that there were barely enough farm animals to meet the
demands of agriculture ; business was at a standstill ; banks
and commercial agencies had either suspended or closed on
account of insolvency ; the currency was in a wretched con-
dition ; the disbanded Confederate soldiers returned to their
homes to find desolation and starvation staring them in the
face ; there was no railway or postal system worth speaking
of ; only here and there was a newspaper still running ; the
labor system in vogue since the establishment of the colonies
was completely overturned, and the laborers were wandering
aimlessly about the country refusing to perform their accus-
tomed toil. Worse than all this, was the fact that about
one-third of the white breadwinners of the state had either
been sacrificed in the contest or were disabled for life, so
that they could no longer be considered as factors in the
work of economic reorganization.1 Another class of depend-
ents were the widows and orphans, the support of whom
claimed a no inconsiderable share of the state's bounty during
the reconstruction period. The number of dependent orphans
alone was estimated to be ten thousand.2 Many of the women
1 According to one authority, of the 78,000 troops furnished by Missis-
sippi to the Confederate army, 12,000 were killed or died of wounds received,
and 16,000 died of disease contracted while in the service. Hinds County
Gazette, Feb. 2, 1866.
2 Appeal of Rev. C. K. Marshall in New York Times of Feb. 27, 1866.
122
ECONOMIC PROBLEMS 123
had never been accustomed to perform domestic service, and
consequently found themselves at a great disadvantage in
the struggle which now ensued.1 There was hardly a home
in the state in which there was not mourning for some mem-
ber of the family who had been killed in the war. A North-
ern newspaper correspondent said it looked as if one-half
the adult males of the state had disappeared. A family
that had not lost a member was an anomaly, and, for the
most part, those who had fallen were the young and vigor-
ous, who were so much needed in the work of economic reor-
ganization. A traveller, who was present at a meeting of
three hundred people in the town of Aberdeen in 1865,
declared that at least one-third of them had lost either a leg
or an arm, while one-half of the remainder bore unmistaka-
ble evidences of severe campaigning. To supply this class
of persons with artificial limbs, one-fifth of the state revenues
were appropriated in 1866. Another traveller found only
five hundred of the original inhabitants in the town of Cor-
inth, these being chiefly women and children and old men.
Instead of shops, stores, and warehouses, he saw only fortifi-
cations and piles of debris. Still another tells a pathetic
story of an incident which came under his observation in
July, 1865, while visiting the home of an old citizen in Mon-
roe County. Ten years before, the traveller had known the
man in question as the possessor of a happy home of five
sons and two daughters. Upon inquiry as to the where-
abouts of the eldest son, he was informed that the son had
been killed at Shiloh. The second son had died of small-
pox in the army, and all the others had either been killed in
battle or had died of disease contracted while in the service.
The two daughters whom he had known in 1855 as charm-
ing girls of thirteen and seventeen respectively were both
dressed in mourning, each having lost a husband in the war.
The mother, heartbroken with grief, had died a raving maniac.
A more pathetic sight than this aged survivor, who wept bit-
terly as he spoke of his bereavements, would be difficult to
imagine, yet the desolation of this household had its coun-
terpart in thousands of others in the state. Our traveller
records that as he continued his journey through a part of
the state which he had known years before, he found here
and there an old man occupying the former mansion ; bat
1 A Northern gentleman relates that while travelling in Smith County in
1865 he found a woman and four daughters who had never cooked a meal in
their lives. They had flour but could not make bread, and cows which
they could not milk.
124 EECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
in the place of the feast there was famine, and in the place
of enjoyment there was sadness.1
The state census of 1866 furnishes some interesting facts
concerning the effect of the war upon the population of the
state. It appears that between 1860 and 1866 there was a
decrease in population of 66,585, and what seems strange, the
proportional decrease among the blacks was more than four
times that of the whites, the decrease among the whites be-
ing less than 3 per cent, while that of the blacks was about
13 per cent. The following exhibit tabulated from the
United States census of 1860 and the state census of 1866
is given in illustration : —
4
White population, 1860 353,899
1866 343,400
Decrease 10,499
Black population, 1860 ...... 437,404
« « 1866 381,258
Decrease 56,146
The census returns showed that Hinds County alone had
4000 fewer negroes than at the beginning of the war.
What became of the 56,146 negroes puzzled those of the
North who reflected upon the question. The Southerners
said they had died from disease and starvation resulting from
their sudden emancipation, and the explanation was not en-
tirely without foundation. Governor Humphreys relates
that he had 59 juvenile blacks at the close of the war, and
only about 20 survived the "hardships" of emancipation.
Governor Sharkey told the reconstruction committee in
1866 that one-half the negroes of the state had perished since
the close of the war, and he was positive that the race was
doomed to an early extinction. Ludicrous as Sharkey's
prophecy may seem now, it is certain that the condition of
the blacks in 1865 did not present a very hopeful prospect
for their future.
When it comes to reckoning up the economic loss apart
from the population, the student encounters great difficulty
in reaching any intelligible results. Besides the destruction
of the railroads with their rolling stock, the levees, fences,
bridges, public and private buildings, growing crops, saw
and grist mills, factories, machine shops, and live stock, there
was the emancipation of the slaves, which is generally counted
1 Letter in Chicago Tribune of Aug. 25, 1865.
ECONOMIC PROBLEMS
125
as one of the items in the loss account. The assessed value
of personalty (including slaves) in 1860 was $351,636,175 ;
in 18TO it was 159,000,430.! During the same time the value
of realty decreased from 1157,836,737 to 8118,278,460. The
figures for 1866 are not available. A local authority esti-
mates the actual loss in one county (Hinds) as follows:2 —
22,353 slaves emancipated .... $11,176,000
200 buildings burned
Growing crops destroyed
10,000 bales of cotton burned
Vehicles, furniture, etc., destroyed
Stores, barns, etc.
Live stock carried away , .
Depreciation in value of lands
Total
600,000
500,000
3,000,000
200,000
250,000
2,000,000
10,000,000
$25,926,000
The estimate is based upon no actual records of property
destroyed, and is no doubt largely in excess of the real
amount. However this may be, Hinds County suffered
much from the ravages of the armies, and the actual loss did
probably reach several million dollars, independently of the
emancipation of the slaves. The following exhibit from the
United States census and the estimates of the Department of
Agriculture, imperfect as it may be, furnishes some idea of
the economic situation in 1866 : 3 —
I860.
1866.
117,570
69,355
" mules
110,723
71,316
" oxen and other cattle . .
'* sheep
522,263
352,632
401,440
253,895
1,532,768
717,884
Value of live stock
$41,891,692
$23,530,710
The statistics relative to the production of cotton in 1866
are not available, but it is significant -that the cotton crop,
which in 1860 amounted to 1,202,507 bales, as late. as 1870
had reached only 565,559 bales.
The condition in which the war left the levees along the
banks of the Mississippi River may be cited as another illus-
1 In 1860 the number of slaves was 436,631, valued at $218,000,000.
2 Hinds County Gazette, Feb. 2, 1866.
8 Report Dept. of Agr. 1860, p. 105; ibid. 1866-1867, pp. 57, 68; Com-
pendium Ninth Census, p. 752.
126 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
tration of its economic effects. At the outbreak of hostilities,
310 miles of continuous levees stretched from the base of the
hills near the Tennessee line to Brunswick Landing in War-
ren County, protecting from overflows the Yazoo basin com-
prising 4,000,000 acres of as fertile land as there is on
the globe, and constituting the heart of the cotton zone of
the United States. Although sparsely settled, this region
in 1860 produced 220,000 bales of cotton and 2,500,000
bushels of corn.1 During the progress of hostilities the
levees which protected it were cut in many places by one or
the other of the contending armies. The floods of 1867 com-
pleted the destruction, so that by 1870 many of the hitherto
well-kept farms were covered with weeds and bushes, while
the steamboats lay idle at the wharves along the Yazoo and
Tallahatchie rivers. With the reestablishment of civil gov-
ernment in 1870, the country was divided into levee districts,
placed under the jurisdiction of levee boards which were
empowered to assess taxes on cotton and land, and employ
engineers to superintend the reconstruction of the levees.
This was one of the chief problems of economic reconstruction.
The war played quite as much havoc with the printing-
presses as with the railroads and levees. Upon the approach
of the Union army, the newspaper establishments were usu-
ally removed to less exposed districts, where publication was
sometimes continued, but more often suspended. It often
happened, however, that owing to the suddenness with
which a detachment of Federal cavalry would swoop into a
village, the unsuspecting editor was prevented from remov-
ing his type to a place of safety. In some instances the
presses were destroyed, and the type thrown into a neighbor-
ing well or river, or, as in the case of the Jackson Mississip-
pian, scattered about the streets and tramped into the mud.
Sometimes presses were taken possession of, and the paper
continued to the end of the war as a Union sheet by some
of the soldiers. This was the case with the Vicksburg
Citizen, the Natchez Courier, and a Corinth paper. In one
case a press captured at Jackson by the Sixteenth Infantry
was carried away and kept for the use of the army. It
is still in possession of that regiment, and at present is
doing duty in the Philippine Islands.2 A local authority
says the " events of the war " reduced the number of papers
in the state from fifty to about one dozen, most of which
1 Memorial to Congress, H. Mis. Docs. 1867-1868, No. 14.
2 New York Times, Feb. 11, 1901.
ECONOMIC PROBLEMS 127
were " half sheets," and that in November, 1865, only four-
teen were running.1 However, with the return of peace a
perfect mania for the establishment of newspapers took
possession of the people, and by April, 1866, fifty were in
operation, ten of them being dailies.
One of the largest items in the loss account was the cap-
ture or destruction of cotton. The records of the United
States Claims Commission furnish an imperfect idea of the
amount seized by the Union forces. No records of the
amount destroyed by the Confederate forces are available
to the writer. The Confederate government, at one time
or another, owned 127,341 bales in Mississippi valued at
$7,947,455. 2 It was held as security for loans, and was
generally stored on the plantations waiting for the removal
of the blockade so that it could be exported. Much of
this, as well as cotton not belonging to the Confederacy,
was captured by the military forces of the United States.
The amount of Confederate cotton thus seized in Mississippi
was estimated at 60,000 bales, or nearly one-half the amount
owned by the Confederacy in the state.3 Of the remainder,
some was removed to Texas, or burned to prevent capture,
some was concealed in the woods or swamps where the bag-
ging decayed from dampness, while a no inconsiderable part
was sold by the slaves, at a nominal sum, to speculators who
swarmed about the country. Private cotton seized was of
three kinds : first, that abandoned by the owners upon the
approach of the enemy ; second, that captured in the course
of military operations ; and third, that confiscated on account
of the use to which it was being put in aid of the Confederate
cause. In the case of abandoned cotton, the owner was en-
titled to recover its value if, upon the conclusion of peace, he
could furnish satisfactory proof of loyalty throughout the
war. The same was true of cotton improperly captured.
Of course, nothing could be recovered for confiscated cotton.
It is difficult to ascertain with any degree of accuracy the
amount of cotton seized by the government under each of
these heads. The report of the Secretary of the Treasury
shows that after June 1, 1865, 36,898 bales were collected
in Mississippi by the cotton agents. Most of it seems to
have belonged to the class known as " captured " cotton, and
was collected in the months of July, August, and September,
1865. About two-thirds of the amount was gathered in the
1 Hinds County Gazette, Nov. 4, 18G5.
a Ex. Docs. 39th Cong. 2d Ses. No. 97.
8 H. Mis. Docs. No. 190, 44th Cong. 1st Ses. pp. 40-42.
128
RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
counties of Noxubee, Lowndes, Oktibbeha, and Monroe.1
These seizures were doubtless a small portion of the total
amount which at one time or another passed into the pos-
session of the United States. Between 1872 and 1878 claims
were filed for 16,285,240 on this account.2 Up to June 30, 1868,
the Court of Claims had awarded to residents of Mississippi
$890,227 for captured and abandoned property, the claimants
in each case being able to satisfy the government of their
loyalty or to adduce satisfactory proof that the property
had been improperly seized. The bulk of it was captured
in Coahoma, Claiborne, Jefferson, Noxubee, Newton, Hinds,
Washington, Warren, and Yazoo counties.3 During this
period, a few claims from Mississippi amounting to less than
one thousand bales were also adjudicated by the Secretary of
the Treasury. In 1871, a commission was created by Congress
to hear and determine all claims for cotton alleged to have
been improperly seized by the United States authorities in the
South. Claimants were compelled to establish positive proof
'of loyalty in order to secure an award. Residing in the Con-
federate lines as a matter of choice, voting for secession can-
didates, holding civil or military office under the Confederacy,
furnishing it supplies, arming or equipping any person for
its service, subscribing to its loans, selling cotton or any
other produce to the Confederate authorities, or doing any-
thing whatsoever to aid the Confederate cause, were, by the
rulings of the commission, acts of disloyalty. The following
exhibit shows the number of claims from Mississippi ad-
judicated by the commission, the amounts claimed, and the
amounts allowed during each year of its existence: —
YKAE.
AMOUNT CLAIMED.
AMOUNT ALLOWED.
1872
$490,977
$108,975
1873
710,883
83,188
1874
1 097 617
147 251
1875
559,018
57,996
1876
711,760
54,833
1877
1 078 820
53,051
1878
391,262
26,210
1879
1,134,727
34,201
1 Ex. Docs. No. 23, 43d Cong. 2d Ses. p. 68. The amount collected in
Noxubee was 11,665 bales, in Lowndes 10,592 bales, in Monroe 6185 bales, in
Oktibbeha 2168 bales.
2 Tabulated from the seven annual reports of the United States Cotton
Claims Commission.
8 See Ex. Docs. 44th Cong. 1st Ses. No. 189. The total awards for all the
Southern states was $9,545,293.
ECONOMIC PROBLEMS 129
The court was aided in its labors by special claims commis-
sioners in each state, whose duties were to administer oaths
and to take testimony and forward it to Washington.1 Four
hundred and sixty-three claims for the value of 32,444 bales
of cotton were filed before the commission by residents of
Mississippi.2 By an act of June 15, 1878, it was provided that
all claims not reported should be forever barred thereafter.
Five thousand seven hundred and two cases in all were left
unadjudicated.
The total amount of the awards was, of course, a very
small proportion of the value of the property destroyed. All
claimants were regarded as prima facie disloyal during the
war, and the burden of proof rested upon them to show the
contrary. The history of a single one of these claims is here-
with presented as an illustration of the difficulties which
claimants had to confront.
On the 5th of October, 1864, Colonel Osband, the com-
mander of a negro regiment, took possession of the house
of Mr. Edward McGehee, a wealthy planter in Wilkinson
County. McGehee says the negroes ransacked his house,
became intoxicated from wine found in the cellar, insulted
his family, struck him about the head and cursed him, de-
manded his money and valuables, and finally ordered him to
remove his furniture, as they intended to burn his house.
As he removed the furniture, they either stole it or chopped
it to pieces with axes, so that nothing but a piano was saved.
They then burned the dwelling-house, stables, and gin house,
together with 350 bales of cotton, and evidences of debt
amounting to $30,000. After the close of the war he filed
a claim for $134,962. He testified that he was originally a
Whig, and in all sectional or state-rights contests he was a
Union man, that he had " earnestly and warmly opposed
secession," but when secession became a fact he "acqui-
esced." The committee to whom his claim was referred
reported that it did not appear from his testimony whether
his sentiments and prayers were for the Union or for the
Confederacy, and that he did not make out a case entitling
him to relief. They asked to be discharged from "further
consideration of his claim.3 A majority of these claims met
a similar fate.
1 The commissioners for Mississippi were E. P. Jacobson, I. V. Blackman,
and J. T. Moseley.
2 For the name of each claimant and the number of bales claimed, see Ex.
Docs. 43d Cong. 2d Ses. No. 23, p. 58 et seq.
8 Sen. Reports, 41st Cong. 2d Ses. No. 83.
130 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
As already intimated, the character of the currency was
such as to materially hinder the work of speedy economic
reconstruction. The circulating medium consisted chiefly
of about four million dollars of " cotton notes " issued at
the beginning of the war, and the notes issued by several
of the railroads by permission of the legislature. After the
surrender of Lee, the millions of state and Confederate
treasury notes were of course worth nothing. There was
also great uncertainty as to the status of the so-called " cot-
ton money." It will be remembered that these notes were
advanced in consideration of pledges for the delivery of an
equivalent of cotton upon the demand of the governor, who
was authorized to issue his proclamation for delivery as soon
as the Federal blockade was raised. On the 8th of Janu-
ary, 1866, Governor Humphreys called upon all those to
whom advances had been made to fulfil their promises and
deliver the cotton at certain specified points. It was, of
course, a great hardship, inasmuch as the cotton notes had
fallen in value to fifteen or twenty cents on the dollar.1 This
proclamation had the effect, however, of causing a rise in the
value of cotton money to seventy-five cents on the dollar, and
speculators were soon doing a good business. There was
still much uncertainty as to whether the act under which
this money was issued was in aid of the Confederate cause
or not. If the former was the case, the act would be declared
unconstitutional, and the money would be worthless. Public
opinion was divided on this question. The Jackson News
advised the people not to be " humbugged " by purchasing
or dealing in cotton money, said it .was veritable trash, and
not a dollar would ever be redeemed. The Hinds County
Gazette, however, said the people did not believe in repudia-
tion and dishonor, and that no court in Mississippi would
hold the cotton notes void.2 The editor congratulated an
"old and valued friend" who had succeeded in buying
$2500 worth in Jackson for thirty cents on the dollar. He
declared that many persons were purchasing it to pay debts
with, as they should do, and that one bale of cotton would
buy enough to lift a debt of $2000.3 The News was right.
The Supreme Court held the cotton money act to be null and
void, as being in " aid of the rebellion." 4 For ten years after
the close of the war, the government of the state was con-
ducted on a credit basis by means of " warrants," which ranged
1 Hinds County Gazette. 2 Issue of Feb. 23, 1866.
8 Issue of Feb. 2, 1866. 4 Thomas vs. Taylor, 42 Miss. 651.
ECONOMIC PKOBLEMS 131
in value from about forty cents on the dollar to ninety-nine
cents in 1876.
Superadded to the difficulty of a deranged currency was
the burden of paying two Federal taxes. The first of these
was Mississippi's quota of the twenty million direct tax levied
by Congress in 1861. The President had been authorized
to collect the amount with accrued interest at 6 per cent at
the close of the war. On July 1, 1862, in pursuance of an
act of Congress, he imposed a penalty equal to 50 per cent
of the quota on all states " in rebellion," the same to be a
lien on the land thus taxed until paid.1 By a subsequent
act, the privilege of redemption was denied to any person who
could not present a clean record for loyalty. The amount of
Mississippi's quota, together with the penalty, was $413,000.
The landowners complained that the mode of assessment
would work a great hardship upon them, inasmuch as the
tax was levied on property, the value of which was several
times as great in 1862 as in 1865. Moreover, they said,
$200,000,000 worth of slaves had been emancipated in the
state since the imposition of the tax, and the vast amount
of property destroyed by the authority of the United States
in Mississippi, such as courthouses, penitentiaries, asylums,
and other public buildings, should be made a partial offset
to the tax. It was levied, they said, at a time when the state
did not have a representative in Congress, the people were
not able to pay, and it would consequently mean the confis-
cation of their lands. In view of these facts, Congress was
asked to relieve the state from the payment of the tax, or
at least from the penalty of 50 per cent ; or make a reason-
able deduction for public property destroyed by the United
States; or make a change in the mode of assessment and
valuation ; or give a reasonable extension of the time for its
payment and for the privilege of redeeming lands sold for
non-payment of the tax.2 By an act of July 2, 1866, the
Secretary of the Treasury was directed to suspend the col-
lection of the direct tax in the late seceded states until
January 1, 1868. At the time of this act, $69,947 had been
collected in Mississippi.3 No lands in Mississippi we're sold
for non-payment of the tax.
The tax on cotton was levied in 1863, when, of course, none
of the cotton-producing states had representatives in the
1 Official Records, Series III. Vol. 3, Serial No. 124, p. 185.
2 Laws of 18C6, p. 267.
8 Report Secretary of the Treasury, 1867-1868, p. 286.
132 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
Congress of the United States. A small amount was col-
lected in 1863 and 1864, but what proportion of this came
from Mississippi does not appear from the reports of the
Commissioner of Internal Revenue. The following exhibit
shows the rate of the tax and the amount collected in
Mississippi for each year after the war so long as the law was
in operation : 1 —
YEAR.
RATE.
AMOUNT.
1866
1867
1868
3 cents per Ib.
2i « «
9i (( «
$756,289
4,640,664
3,521,702
Total $8,918,655
The weight of this burden is only appreciated when it is re-
membered that the cotton crops of 1866 and 1867 were almost
failures. The amount contributed by Mississippi in 1867
and 1868 was six or eight times the expenditures of the state
government, and was estimated to be about one-fourth of the
value of the crops.2 Moreover, there was a general feeling
that inasmuch as it was practically a tax on exports, the bur-
den was in violation of the Constitution. The Secretary of
the Treasury recommended the repeal of the tax as a means
of restoring the productive power of the Southern states as
rapidly as possible. "Even in their deplorable condition,"
he said, " more than two-thirds of our exports last year con-
sisted of their products, and it is the crop of the present
year (1867), small though it is, that is to save us from the
ruinous indebtedness to Europe."3 For a time this view
was not acceptable to Congress, and, in fact, an attempt was
1 Report Secretary of the Treasury, 1867-1868, p. 260. The total amount
contributed by the Southern states in the form of a tax on cotton while they
were unrepresented in Congress was as follows : —
1863 $ 351,311
1864 1,268,412
1865 1,772,983
1866 18,409,654
1867 22,500,947
1868 23,769,078
Total . . . $68,072,385
2 Memorial H. Mis. Docs. 40th Cong. 2d Ses. No. 66.
8 Report Secretary of the Treasury, 1867-1868, p. xxix.
ECONOMIC PROBLEMS 133
made to increase the tax to five cents per pound. The New
York Chamber of Commerce memorialized Congress against
such a measure, declared that taxation without representa-
tion was tyranny, that the cotton tax was in spirit at least
a violation of the Constitution, that the proposed increase
" lacked an impartiality which was calculated to provoke hos-
tility at the South," and instead of such measures Congress
ought by just and generous legislation to seek uto lift up
those cast down, and inspire them with hope of better days." 1
The tax was repealed in 1868. For a long time cotton plant-
ers carefully preserved their tax receipts in the belief that
the amount collected from them would be returned.2
The deranged economic conditions, together with the
general impoverishment, led to a demand on the legislature to
stay for a time the collection of all debts. The legislature
yielded to the pressure in 1866, and passed a law suspending
all laws for the collection of debts until January 1, 1868. It
was vetoed by the governor, passed over his veto, and subse-
quently declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
The Hinds County Gazette denounced the law as a ruinous
measure, and declared that nineteen of every twenty men
were opposed to it.
One of the chief economic problems of reconstruction was
the readjustment of the labor system in conformity with
the new conditions growing out of emancipation. Not one
planter in ten believed that free negro labor could be made
profitable. Carl Schurz relates that while on his tour
of inspection through the South in 1865 every planter
with whom he talked, without a solitary exception, declared
emphatically that negroes would not work without compul-
sion. At the time these views were expressed, the negroes
were taking a sort of protracted holiday. It was but a tem-
porary impulse, and they soon returned to the plantations
and begged for employment, although it will be admitted that
their labor was of a very unreliable character. They refused
to contract for the whole year, but insisted upon employment
by the month, according to the rale established by the Freed-
men's Bureau. This was of course a very inconvenient
method for the cultivation of the cotton plant. On account
of the moral certainty that the negro would make a change
1 Sen. Mis. Docs. 30th Cong. 1st Ses. No. 109.
2 The Supreme Court of the United States was divided in opinion as to
the constitutionality of this tax, and no decision was ever reached. The
opinion in the recent case of Coe vs. Errol, 116 U.S. 517, however, sustains a
tax of this kind.
134 BECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
of employers at the end of the month, it was almost useless
to attempt a crop on such a plan. For a while, in the
autumn of 1865, they refused to make contracts under any
circumstances, in the belief that the lands were to be divided
among them about Christmas time. The Jackson Clarion of
December 2 declared that the question of labor for the com-
ing year was getting to be " interesting," and, to be sure,
it looked very much as if the lands would lie idle if negro
labor was to be the only dependence of the planters. In
this situation, the planters began to turn their attention to
the importation of white immigrants from the North or from
Europe. The Hinds County Gazette advised the people to
form associations and send agents abroad for this purpose.
The advice was followed, and " immigrant clubs " were
formed in many communities. A prominent planter of
Lowndes County said Columbus was " fairly alive " on the
subject, and that unless white laborers could be had, one-
third of the lands in the county would lie idle, and the
remainder would be poorly cultivated. It was his opinion
that it would be cheaper to pay a German $25 per month
than a negro $12. 50.1 A correspondent of the Cincinnati
Commercial said he had never seen such anxiety among the
Southern people for the introduction of white immigrants.
These movements met with very little success. Of the
162,918 immigrants who arrived at New York between Janu-
ary 1 and October 3, 1865, but 21 found their way to Missis-
sippi. The outlook was so discouraging that quite a few of
the inhabitants prepared to emigrate to some of the Spanish-
American countries. Some of the late Confederate generals
were the leaders of the emigration movement.2 General
Sterling Price wrote from Cordova, Mexico, in December
1865 : " I pray to God that my fears for the future of the
South may never be realized, but when the right is given to
the negro to bring suit, testify before the courts, and vote in
elections, you all had better be in Mexico."3 General Jubal
A. Early, another Confederate soldier who had emigrated to
Mexico, gave, however, a discouraging view of the situa-
tion, and advised emigrants not to take their families.4
The Choctaw Herald of December 1, 1866, announced that
several families had left that county for Brazil, and that
they were " merely pioneers of a large colony " which was
1 De Bow's Eeview, June, 1867, p. 585.
2 The Mexican Times of Nov. 11, 1865, is quoted as containing a list of
fifty-one prominent Confederate soldiers who had taken up their abode in
Mexico. 3 De Bow's Review. 4 Ibid. 1866, p. 666.
ECONOMIC PROBLEMS 135
preparing to move there. General Wood, formerly of Natchez,
went to Brazil shortly after the close of the war, to make
arrangements for transplanting a colony of Mississippians to
that country. Upon his return to the United States, he pub-
lished the result of his mission, relative to which the Hinds
County Gazette said : " Sensible and practical men should not
permit themselves to be led astray by such visionary men.
Better submit and endure wrongs than be exiles in a foreign
land."1 The Jackson Clarion of July 25, 1867, published a
letter from a returned emigrant who declared that the emi-
gration movement was a " delusion gotten up for the benefit
of speculators." As soon as it became evident that free negro
labor could be made profitable, and that the admission of the
negro to the witness stand and the jury box would not be
accompanied by the terrible results predicted, the emigration
movement died out entirely.
Although few immigrants came from Europe, there were
causes at work which led to the immigration of that class of
persons from the North which came later to bear the name
of "carpet baggers." These causes were the cheapness of
the lands and the high price of cotton. Many of these
immigrants were soldiers in the Union army, who during
their stay in Mississippi had been attracted by the prospects
of great profit in cotton growing. At the close of hostili-
ties, cotton was worth a dollar per pound, and land could be
bought at a song. Newspapers contained whole columns of
advertisements of plantations for sale at a "sacrifice." One
pamphlet advertised a list of one hundred " fine plantations "
at greatly reduced prices. One of these consisted of 2690
acres, of which 1100 were in cultivation, and a house which
in 1859 cost 122,500 at the rate of 110 per acre.2 A plantation
three miles from Corinth was sold for 35 cents per acre. Com-
menting upon these facts, a local paper declared that a finer
opening for legitimate speculation was never presented.3 A
correspondent of a Northern journal informed its readers that
the cheapness of the lands " amazed " those who knew some-
thing of their value in former years ; and to him the produc-
tiveness of the half-cultivated fields was even more amazing.
The Union soldiers who settled in the state after being mus-
tered out, made frequent appeals through private letters and
through the press to their Northern friends to join them in the
South. A colony of Ohioans in Noxubee and Lowndes coun-
1 Issue of March 9, 1866.
2 See list in De Bow's Review, December, 1866, p. 667.
• 8 Hinds County Gazette, June 1, 1866.
136 KECONSTEUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
ties addressed a communication to the Cleveland Republican,
saying, "We should like to see more of our Buckeye friends
turn their attention in this direction . The inducements offered
far surpass anything in the West. Fine improved plantations,
varying in size from 200 to 300 acres, convenient to the rail-
road, are offered at from $10 to $25 per acre ; improved and
well-timbered tracts at from $3 to 18 per acre. Our treatment
by the citizens has been uniformly kind, their conduct toward
us has been open and generous, and we have many times
been under obligation to them for kind services." The
result of such representations was a considerable influx of
Northern immigrants. The majority of them rented plan-
tations, although in some instances they came as purchasers,
and in others as common laborers. The belief was general
among the Northern settlers that they could by the intro-
duction of scientific methods revolutionize cotton planting.
The impression also existed that in view of their relations
to the negro race, free negro labor could be made to
yield greater returns than where Southern whites were
vthe employers. This, however, did not prove to be true.
The remorseless energy and thrift of the Northern planter,
and the exacting nature of the service which he demanded,
did not appeal to the slow-going freedman, who was accus-
tomed to the patience and forbearance of the Southerner.
None of the planters were so quick to declaim upon the
unreliability of negro labor as those who had helped to eman-
cipate the negro.
So far as revolutionizing the methods of cotton culture
was concerned, it is not too much to say that a majority of
the Northern planters were unsuccessful, and with the inaug-
uration of the reconstruction policy in 1867, they virtually
abandoned the business and became office holders.1 It is
incorrect, therefore, to call them " carpet baggers." They
did not go South to get offices, for there were no offices for
them to fill. The causes which led them to settle there
were purely economic, and not political. The genuine
" carpet baggers " who came after the adoption of the recon-
struction policy were comparatively few in number.
The virtual failure of the attempt to procure a supply of
1 This opinion is based upon an examination of the "personal testimony"
given by a large number of these men before the various reconstruction
committees that investigated affairs in Mississippi. One of the Northerners
who had an experience of this kind was Governor Andrews of Massachusetts.
He is reputed to have "sunk" $30,000 on a plantation in Issaquena County.
He attributed the failure to negro labor.
ECONOMIC PROBLEMS 137
white laborers by immigration made it necessary, therefore,
to fall back upon the negro. The chief problem was how to
devise a plan that would secure a reasonable return to the
planter, and a corresponding reward for the toil of the
laborer. There were certain economic elements that facili-
tated the solution of the problem. Thus, the white man
owned the land, the stock, and the farming implements ; the
freedman furnished the labor. But the relative values of
each was a question to be determined by experiment. Some
of the planters adopted the plan of renting land to freedmen
for a stipulated sum of money, but the difficulty of collecting
rent in this form led to its early abandonment. A better
plan was to rent for a stipulated portion of the crop, say one-
third. The most common method adopted, however, was
the " share " system. Few freedmen possessed farm animals
or implements or sufficient standing with the mercantile class
to secure credit for the necessary supplies while the crop was
growing. The planter, therefore, agreed to furnish the land,
the seed, the farm implements and animals, and furnish the
merchant with security for any supplies which the freedman
might need. On the other hand, the freedman was to plant,
cultivate, and gather the crop for a certain portion of it.
This was usually one-half. In some instances, the farmer
furnished the rations in addition, and received two-thirds of
the crop. In Amite County, the value of labor and board
was reckoned as being equivalent to the use of the land and
animals ; in Washington County, one-fourth of the crop was
paid for the labor, and one-third where the laborer furnished
his own supplies. In Winston County, three-tenths of the
crop was given for the labor. On the Yazoo, one-fourth of
the gross product was paid for labor when the laborer fur-
nished his own rations. In Tippah, the use of the farm, tools,
and stock was regarded as an equivalent for the labor, rations,
and feed for the stock. The scheme, however, by which the
planter furnished the tools and animals and the freedman
the labor, each receiving one-half of the crop, was in the end
adopted everywhere.
The " share " system was disastrous to the planters of
Mississippi in 1866 and 1867. On account of overflows,
droughts, and insects, the yield was not sufficient to pay for
the food and clothing of laborers. The failure, however, was
not due solely to unfavorable seasons, but in a great measure
to the unreliable character of negro labor. Even now, the
negro is not a model of industry, frugality, and foresight.
He was much farther from it in 1866. His undertakings
138 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
nearly always resulted in failure. He was peculiarly unfitted
for the cultivation of the cotton crop, which requires careful
attention the greater part of the entire year. Free to go
where he pleased, and to own fire-arms, he hunted and fished,
attended " frolics " and protracted meetings, while the grass
choked his cotton to death. The following incident was a
common occurrence. A planter in Amite County had fur-
nished a yoke of oxen and a cart to a freedman who had four
children to help him on the farm. Seeing him on his way
to the village one day with a small load of wood, and know-
ing that his little farm was rapidly going to grass, the planter
said to him, " How is this, uncle ? " " Oh," he said, " I am
out of tobaccy, and am gwine to town to sell a load of wood."
His wife was housekeeping, and his four children had gone
a fishing. His cows brought two calves, both of which starved
to death.
Another freedman in the same county, who as a slave
had managed fifteen laborers for his master, and who was
understood to be an intelligent overseer, rented a farm of
fertile bottom land, and with seventeen colaborers went into
the business of cotton planting for himself. He bought two
mules, four horses, eight cows, a wagon, twelve hundred
pounds of bacon, a hundred and forty bushels of corn, bor-
rowed four yoke of oxen, and obtained credit for $1000.
He made four bales of cotton, no corn, fodder, or vege-
tables. Both mules and one yoke of oxen were dead at
the end of the year, and two of the horses were too
poor to stand alone; two were run off and sold; no rent
or debts were paid ; and an additional debt of 1500 was
incurred. Although a negro might have a half interest in
the crop he was cultivating, if he was offered employment
for a day or two at a little more than the usual rates he
would leave his crop in order to earn a few dollars to spend
for trifles that would only please a child. He exhibited the
same weakness in a far more pronounced degree for aban-
doning his work to attend political meetings.
Much of the legislation after the war was designed to en-
courage the flow of capital to the state, the establishment of
various manufacturing industries, and the building of rail-
roads. Some of the acts thus passed related specifically to
the publication of accurate crop reports; for the exemption
from taxation for a period of years of all factories established
in the state ; for the encouragement of the growth of wool ;
and for the encouragement of agricultural and mechanical
institutions, county and state fairs, etc.
THE POSTAL AND RAILWAY SERVICE 139
II. RECONSTRUCTION OF THE POSTAL AND RAILWAY
SERVICE
One of the first duties of reconstruction was the reestab-
lishment of the postal service in the late " insurrectionary "
states. It will be remembered that upon the outbreak of
hostilities, the United States postal officials in these states
turned the funds and other property belonging to the Post
Office Department over to the Confederate authorities or
appropriated them to their own personal use. In February,
1861, the service was withdrawn from the South, it being
impossible to continue it longer. As the territory passed
under the control of the Union armies, a limited postal ser-
vice was reestablished for the exclusive use of the military
forces of the United States, whenever the territory was
held for any length of time. The President in his procla-
mations appointing provisional governors directed the Post-
master General to take steps to reestablish the United States
postal service in the South. Provisional governors were at
once notified of the readiness of the department to appoint
postmasters and mail contractors upon recommendation,
and to put the mail on the railroads as soon as notified
of their willingness to carry it.1 Steps were also taken
to recover the funds which had been turned over to the
Confederate authorities or misappropriated at the begin-
ning of the war. The amount thus due from former
postmasters in Mississippi was about $34,000.2 The claim
of the delinquent postmasters that they should be cred-
ited with the amounts turned over to the Confederacy
was not allowed. It appears that no effort was made to
reorganize the service in Mississippi until November, 1865,
when Mr. Kelly, a special agent of the department, came to
Jackson, charged with the duty of arranging the necessary
1 Report Postmaster General, 1865-1866, p. 12.
2 Ibid. p. 107. The following amounts were claimed from the presidential
offices in Mississippi : —
Aberdeen $ 225
Canton 2556
Clinton 141
Columbus 927
Holly Springs 1750
Jackson 3134
Natchez 6230
Vicksburg 3243
The total amount for all the Southern states was $341,000.
140 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
details. He called upon the people to recommend suitable
persons to act as postmasters and make proposals for carry-
ing the mail, assuring them that postal facilities could not
be extended without the cooperation of the people. But the
chief difficulty of restoring the service was due to the re-
quirement that postmasters and mail contractors should take
the iron-clad oath of July 2, 1862. Consequently, the open-
ing of mail facilities proceeded at a rate that was exceed-
ingly annoying to the inhabitants. The Jackson Clarion of
January 7, 1866, complained that they had received no mail
from the North for eight days, "and yet the people were
loyal." As late as August 20 of the same year, only eighty-
nine offices in the state had been " reconstructed," but one
of which was in Hinds County.
The mail was carried by private contract between many
towns for months after the collapse of the Confederacy.
The Clarion urged the citizens to make an effort to find
suitable persons who could take the oath, and if no such
could be found, to get unmarried women appointed with the
understanding that they were to appoint deputies to attend to
the post offices. The same difficulties were met with in putting
into operation the United States revenue laws. It was felt
by the President and the Cabinet that the unpleasant duty
of collecting Federal taxes from the impoverished people of
the South should be performed by their own citizens. In
view, therefore, of the difficulty of finding eligible Southern
whites to serve as assessors and collectors, the President, in a
way, dispensed with the test oath, and allowed it to be taken
in a qualified form where the applicant was known not to have
been a disunionist.1 The same ruling was made with regard
to postmasters and mail contractors. When Congress met,
it adopted a resolution requesting the President to transmit
the names of all persons who had been allowed to qualify by
taking the oath in a modified form. Upon receipt of the
information, Congress passed an act declaring vacant the
offices held by such incumbents. In Mississippi, several of
the assessors and collectors, and a majority of the postmas-
ters, were compelled to surrender their offices. It was then
ordered that the mails should not be delivered at any place
where there was not a postmaster duly sworn according to
the iron-clad oath.
The reorganization of the railway service upon "loyal
principles " was another problem of reconstruction, but was
1 Ex. Docs. 1st Ses. 39th Cong. No. 81, p. 6.
THE POSTAL AND RAILWAY SERVICE
141
not attended with the same difficulties as in the case of the
postal and revenue service. As the Union armies penetrated
the Southern states, the railroads were seized as captured
property, and held during the war and for some months after
the cessation of hostilities, and used for military purposes.
The seizures were made by the commanders in the field with-
out reference to any other consideration than depriving the
enemy of their use. They were destroyed or repaired and
used as occasion required. The business of managing these
roads became so great that a bureau styled "the Military
Railroad Department " was created. In all, 42 southern
railroads were thus seized, aggregating 2538 miles, and
$45,000,000 were expended by the government in repairing
and equipping them. In August, 1865, the President di-
rected that they be turned over to their owners, and the
management reorganized by the election of boards of direc-
tors whose loyalty should be established to the satisfaction
of the commanding general. Each company was further-
more required to furnish satisfactory bonds that it would
within a certain time pay the government a fair valuation
for the rolling stock which it had supplied from Northern
roads or had had especially manufactured for use on the
Southern roads. Thus they became purchasers of govern-
ment rolling stock to the amount of about $7,000,000. Prac-
tically none of the Southern roads were able to pay the
several amounts as they fell due, and the radicals in Con-
gress denounced the whole proceeding as a " complete sur-
render." The following exhibit shows the dates on which
the several lines in Mississippi were seized for use as military
roads, when they were restored, and their indebtedness to
the government at the time of their restoration : l —
NAME.
WHEN SEIZED.
WHEN KESTORED.
INDEBTEDNESS
TO THE U.S.
Memphis and Charleston
Mississippi Central .
Selma and Meridian
Mobile and Ohio
New Orleans, Jackson,
and Great Northern
Mississippi and Tennessee
Feb'y, 1864
« «
« «
« «
Jan. 30, 1863
Sept., 1865
Aug. 24, 1865
Aug. 25, 1865
« «
June 30, 1865
$474,496
61,529
142,870
302,365
102,460
1 House Report, No. 15, 2d Ses. 40th Cong. ; also Ex. Docs. ibid. No. 73.
142 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
The only one of these roads that had received a land grant
from Congress was the Selma and Meridian, which, in 1856,
had been given 171,750 acres.1 On account of the aid which
it gave the Confederacy, there was a strong sentiment among
the reconstructionists in favor of forfeiting the grant. It
appears, however, that no action was taken with that end in
view.
So much for the reconstruction of the railroads from the
political point of view. There was another very important
aspect, namely, that of physical reconstruction. The condi-
tion of the roads in Mississippi was particularly unfortunate
at the close of hostilities. They were creditors to the Con-
federate government to the amount of many millions of dol-
lars for transporting its troops and supplies, all of which was,
of course, lost. In the second place, they had paid large debts
due to the state in Confederate currency under an act which
was subsequently declared by the courts to be null and void.
Consequently, these debts had to be discharged again, and in
sound money. Worse than either of these misfortunes was
the actual physical condition of the roads and their rolling
stock. Nothing illustrates so well the desolation of the war
as a picture of the several railway lines at the close of hos-
tilities.
The Memphis and Charleston road extending across the
northeastern corner of the state was taken actual possession
of by the Federal army in 1862, and for three years it was a
sort of picket line between the two armies, each of which
seemed to try to outdo the other in inflicting destruction
upon it. When the company was reorganized loyally, and
its property restored, only a wreck of the former road ex-
isted. From Pocahontas to Decatur, a distance of 114 miles,
it was almost entirely destroyed. Every bridge and trestle
was gone, the cross ties were rotten, the depots and other
buildings were in ashes, the water tanks were destroyed, the
ditches filled up, the track covered with weeds and bushes,
and forty miles of rails were burnt and twisted. Nearly all
the locomotives and cars were destroyed, the machinery was
beyond repair, and there was not a saw-mill left along the
line.
The Memphis and Tennessee road, which runs from Gren-
ada to Memphis, suffered quite as much as the Memphis and
Charleston. Of the fifteen Howe truss bridges on its line
in 1860, only three small ones remained at the close of the
1 Ex. Docs. 1st Ses. 39th Cong. No. 101, p. 58.
THE POSTAL AND RAILWAY SERVICE 143
war. Two and a half miles of trestle, almost one-half of
the rolling stock, nearly all the water tanks, and two-thirds
of the depots were destroyed. On the first of May, 1865,
but thirty of the one hundred miles of the road were in oper-
ation. The work of reconstruction was begun without a
dollar in the treasury. By the middle of June, trains were
running as far north as Senatobia, at which point passengers
for Memphis were transferred to horse cars. Many enter-
prising Memphis merchants contributed money to aid in
repairing the road, in recognition of which their names were
placarded in the cars, and the friends of the road requested
to give them their trade. By the end of the year 1865, it
was nearly reconstructed. Freight depots had been built at
Memphis, Horn Lake, Cold Water, Como, Sardis, Batesville,
and Popes ; the Tallahatchie and Yazoo rivers had been
bridged; two and a half miles of trestle built; 100,000 new
cross ties laid; section houses, wood and water stations re-
placed; a good deal of track relaid; and a machine shop at
Memphis erected and equipped. On January 3, 1866, the
first train went through from Memphis to Grenada.
The Mississippi Central railroad, extending from Canton,
Mississippi, to Jackson, Tennessee, was at the close of hostili-
ties a mere wreck between Abbeville (near Oxford) and Grand
Junction. But eight passenger coaches were left on the
road. Bridges, depots, culverts, and most of the cross ties
were gone. The machine shops at Canton and Holly Springs
were destroyed, and the company carried a debt of $1,500,000.
By the middle of June, 1865, trains were running between
Grenada and Oxford. At the latter place, passengers for
points north were transferred to hand-cars, which consti-
tuted the chief means of conveyance between Oxford and
Holly Springs. Both passengers and freight had to be trans-
ferred by boat across the Yazoo River at Grenada. By Sep-
tember 20, all the bridges were completed to Holly Springs,
and by November 15, regular trains were running through
from Canton to Grand Junction. Until June, 1866, how-
ever, there were only three locomotives in the service north
of Grenada. The work of reconstruction was pushed rapidly,
and before the end of the year 1865, depots had been built at
Holly Springs, Oxford, Coffeeville, Winona, Vaiden, West
Durant, and Goodman, and a number of others were repaired.
The most important railroad in the state was the New
Orleans, Jackson, and Great Northern, now a part of the
Illinois Central, 206 miles in length, extending from New
Orleans to Canton, and built at a cost of 17,000,000. It
144 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
was completed but a year or two before the outbreak
of the war, and was said to be the best equipped road in
the Confederacy. Its rolling stock was taken possession
of by General Lovell in April, 1862, but was subsequently
restored, and that part of the road between New Orleans and
Ponchatoula continued to be operated until the surrender of
the Confederate armies in 1865. A considerable portion of
the track in the vicinity of Jackson was destroyed by Gen-
eral Sherman in 1863. Some of it in the southern part of
the state was also destroyed by General Grierson. Con-
sequently, that part of the road from Ponchatoula to Brook-
haven, a distance of eighty-one miles, was not used after the
spring of 1863. Most of the bridges were destroyed, the
road-bed was covered with weeds, bushes, and briers, and
three-fourths of the cross ties were rotten. From Brook-
haven to Jackson, a distance of fifty-five miles, the road,
though in a dilapidated condition, continued to be used with
the exception of about three miles south of Jackson. From
Jackson to Canton, the northern terminus, it was torn up
and the material destroyed. At the outbreak of hostilities,
this road was equipped with 49 locomotives, 37 passenger
cars, and 555 freight, baggage, and gravel cars. At the
close of the war, there were but one locomotive, three pas-
senger cars, and six freight and baggage cars fit for use
between Jackson and Canton. Between Brookhaven and
Jackson there were but two locomotives, both badly dam-
aged by fire, four box cars, and nine flat cars. Of all the
depot buildings and platforms attached, woodsheds, and
water stations, all of which were in good condition in 1862,
only those at Osyka, Magnolia, and Summit remained
standing in 1865, the rest having been destroyed from
time to time by the armed forces of the United States
or of the Confederacy. Not a dollar of available funds
remained in the treasury of the company when it was reor-
ganized loyally in the summer of 1865. The new directors
set to work to reconstruct the road. Men were employed
to rebuild the bridges beginning at Ponchatoula. An agent
was sent to Washington to negotiate for rolling stock then
in possession of the government, and to secure contracts for
carrying the mail. General Beauregard was elected presi-
dent, and by the middle of June, the road between Jackson
and Canton, with the exception of a mile at Jackson, was in
running order. Passengers for New Orleans, however, had
to travel by hand-car from Brookhaven to Ponchatoula, a
distance of eighty-one miles. In less than a year seventy-
THE POSTAL AND RAILWAY SERVICE 145
eight bridges had been rebuilt, forty-two thousand cross ties
laid, and a large amount of rolling stock acquired. By Octo-
ber 3, 1865, trains began to make regular trips from New
Orleans to Canton for the first time since May, 1863.
The Mobile and Ohio was the chief railroad in the eastern
part of the state. It was built largely by English capital-
ists, and was said to be one of the best equipped lines in the
South. The last rail was laid just before the firing upon Fort
Sumter. Upon the outbreak of hostilities it was taken pos-
session of by the Confederate authorities, and used for the
transportation of its men and supplies. At the end of the
war, the Confederate government owed the road 15,000,000,
none of which was, of course, ever paid. From Union
City, Tennessee, to Okolona, Mississippi, a distance of
184 miles, all the bridges and trestles were destroyed.
In the vicinity of Meridian, twenty-one miles of rails were
bent and twisted by order of General Sherman, and all the
bridges, trestles, and water tanks, as well as the rolling stock,
were destroyed. The repair shops at Jackson, Tennessee,
were destroyed, and all the tools and working materials
carried away. The following comparative table shows the
effect of the war upon the Mobile and Ohio railroad so far
as rolling stock is concerned : —
JAN., 1860.
MAY, 1865.
Locomotives in order
Locomotives out of order ....
59
0
26
15
38
11
721
231
In this condition the road was restored to the company in
May, 1865, upon the condition that government business
should have precedence ; that all military orders should be
obeyed; and that nothing should be construed as relieving
the company from the pains and penalties imposed by the
confiscation acts. The road was operated almost exclusively
according to military orders, until all Confederate cotton
captured by the United States was removed. By the middle
of June, 1865, trains were running as far north as Okolona,
and occasionally to Corinth.
The railroad from Vicksburg to Meridian was in no better
condition, if as good, as the others. It suffered chiefly from
the raids of Generals Sherman and Grierson.
146 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
Nothing illustrates better the spirit which animated the
people of the South in their efforts to repair the losses of the
war than the rapidity with which the railroads were recon-
structed and put into operation. They seem to have showed
few signs of discouragement at the disheartening picture
which they were compelled to face upon the return of peace,
but plunged into the work of reconstruction with the same
confidence and enthusiasm with which they took up arms
in the great contest which was destined to inflict incalculable
ruin and misery upon them.
CHAPTER FIFTH
CONGRESSIONAL RECONSTRUCTION
I. THE NATIONAL INQUEST
ALTHOUGH the United States was able to suppress the
" insurrection," it was unable to change the sentiments of the
Southern people with regard to the righteousness of their
cause. This was, to be sure, very natural under the cir-
cumstances, and nothing else should have been expected.
The opinion was common, however, among the more radical
politicians of the North, that the surrender of the Southern
armies should be accompanied by an immediate surrender
of their convictions on the subjects of slavery and secession,
and an open profession of a warm attachment for the flag
and government of the United States. For some time after
the return of peace, the degree of this attachment was the
subject of investigation by special committees and commis-
sioners. Upon the result of these investigations, the gov-
ernment at Washington based its policy in dealing with the
late seceded states. As to the manner of conducting the
investigation, two different plans were followed. One was
the despatch of special commissioners to the states in ques-
tion, with instructions to take the testimony of representative
leaders of all classes, and to observe personally the conduct
of the people in their political, business, and even social
relations. The other plan was the ex parte method by par-
tisan committees. The one was the presidential plan, the
other the congressional plan.
In pursuance of the presidential plan, three special com-
missioners in turn visited the South for the purpose of dis-
covering whatever visible signs of " returning loyalty " there
might be. The first of these was the general of the army,
who had been the most conspicuous figure in the suppression
of the insurrection ; another was a major general, who pos-
sessed elements of statesmanship ; and the third was a civilian,
147
148 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
in whom the President reposed confidence. Each, indepen-
dently of the other, visited the important towns and cities of
the late Confederacy; had interviews with leading citizens,
soldiers, and Confederate generals, travelled over the principal
railroads, navigable rivers, and even in stage-coaches ; called
upon post and district commanders of the United States army
and upon Freedmen's Bureau agents, and, when possible,
procured written statements of their views. As a result of
these investigations, the first commissioner, General U. S.
Grant, reported that there was such " universal acquiescence "
in the authority of the national government as to make the
mere presence of a military force, without regard to numbers,
sufficient to maintain order ; that economy and the good of
the country required that white troops should be employed
in the interior of the country ; that the presence of black
troops demoralized the labor system by encouraging the
freedmen to abandon the plantations and congregate about
the military camps ; that the people of the Southern states
were anxious to renew their allegiance to the United States ;
and that they were earnest in wishing to do what was re-
quired by the government, provided it was not humiliating
to them as citizens, and if such a course were pointed out to
them, they would pursue it in good faith.1
Another commissioner, Carl Schurz, spent several weeks
in the South, visiting, among other places in Mississippi,
Meridian, Jackson, Vicksburg, and Natchez. With regard
to Mississippi, he reported that the people had reorganized
their government and were yielding obedience to the laws
and Constitution of the United States with more willingness
and greater promptitude than could reasonably be expected
under the circumstances ; that they evinced a laudable desire
to renew their allegiance to the government, and to repair
the devastation of war by a prompt and cheerful return to
peaceful pursuits ; that the demoralizing effects of the war
had occasioned disorders in some cases, but they were gener-
ally local in character, and rapidly disappeared as the author-
ity of the civil law was extended and sustained.2
Mr. Truman, the third commissioner, took a most rosy view
of the situation. He declared that he looked to the dis-
banded regiments of the Confederate army with great con-
fidence as the best and altogether most hopeful element of
the South — the real basis of reconstruction and the material
1 See Sen. Docs. 1st Ses. 39th Cong. No. 2, p. 106, for General Grant's
report. 2 See ibid. pp. 1-106, for General Schurz's report.
THE NATIONAL INQUEST 149
of worthy citizenship, and affirmed that there were few more
potent influences at work in promoting real and lasting recon-
ciliation and reconstruction than the influence of the Southern
soldier. He said : " I know from actual observation that thou-
sands of the rank and file and hundreds of their officers would
gladly enlist in the United States army against any and all
foreigners, particularly if they could serve under their old
officers." He thought less than fifty of the leading poli-
ticians of the South still believed in the constitutional right
of secession. He denied the report that Northern men were
persecuted in the South, and declared that the freedmen were
well treated by their late masters.1
The substantial concurrence of the commissioners in the
opinion that the status in the South was such as to justify
the readmission of the state to the Union, was highly gratify-
ing to the supporters of the presidential policy, and was
pointed to with pride as a vindication of their measures.
The radicals, however, refused to accept this as a true picture
of the situation, and General Grant's verdict in particular
was criticised as a " whitewashing " report.2 They rejected
both the report and the testimony on which it was based.
Whether there were objections to the manner in which the
investigation was conducted, it does not appear. A new
method of inquiry was accordingly devised. It consisted of
a joint congressional committee on which the party of the
South had one-fifth of the representatives. Considering the
relative strength of the two parties in Congress, the com-
mittee can hardly be said to have been unfairly constituted.
The testimony relating to Mississippi was taken by Hon.
George S. Boutwell. He summoned such witnesses and
asked such questions as his own sense of fairness dictated.
No representative of the Southern party was present to
cross-examine those whom he called. Mr. Boutwell held his
examinations at Washington, and did not visit the scene of
his investigations. Of the witnesses who were examined upon
the condition of affairs in Mississippi, none were Democrats,
and only two were citizens of the state. These were Gov-
ernor Sharkey and Judge Hill. Of the other eight witnesses,
three were major generals in the Union army, one a briga-
dier general, one a captain of a company of colored troops,
one a United States treasury agent, one a revenue agent, and
the other one said he was "engaged in ascertaining the
amount of cotton in the Southern states for an association of
1 See Sen. Docs. ibid. No. 43, for Truman's report.
2 Burr's Life of Grant, p. 845.
150 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
New England manufacturers." 1 One of the witnesses, in
reply to a question as to what opportunities he had enjoyed
for observations in Mississippi, said that he had not been
there for a year, except on a visit.2 The congressional
method was thus poorly devised for discovering "signs of
returning loyalty." In this respect, it was well-nigh a fail-
ure. One of the witnesses gave his opinion that, with the
exception of the northeastern part of the state, there was
little loyalty to be found;3 another thought there was an
organization in the South for a renewal of the rebellion;4
another declared that the Mississippians were the least loyal
of any people in the South. Two of the witnesses affirmed
that the condition of the freedmen was worse than in the
days of slavery, which was probably true in the year 1865. 5
There was a concurrence of opinion among the witnesses
who had served in the Union army, that without protection
of Federal troops, Northern men in the state were in danger
of violence. The complaint was also general among the wit-
nesses that Northern men were not well received in Southern
society, which was doubtless true in 1865, yet this was
scarcely a proper subject for congressional investigation. It
was certainly not a violation of the Thirteenth Amendment,
under authority of which the investigation was made, and
was not an evil for which there was any adequate legislative
remedy. One of the witnesses professed surprise at never
having met a Confederate who expressed regret or sorrow
for anything except the failure of the Confederacy ; 6 another
saw few manifestations of good feeling toward the govern-
ment;7 another testified that Jeff Davis was cheered in
" every conceivable way " by the people ; 8 and another was
horrified at meeting a rebel general who preferred Davis to
Abraham Lincoln for the presidency.9
1 Testimony of Warren Kelsey before the reconstruction committee, pt.
iii. p. 1.
2 Testimony of Warren Kelsey, ibid.
8 Testimony of Edward Hatch, ibid. p. 4.
4 Testimony of B. H. Grierson, ibid. p. 121.
6 Testimony of J. H. Matthews, ibid. p. 47 ; and Warren Kelsey, ibid. p. 1.
The following explanation from the majority report of the reconstruction
committee is significant: "To obtain the necessary information, recourse
could only be had to the examination of witnesses whose position had given
them the best means of forming an accurate judgment, who could state facts
from their own observation, and whose character and standing afforded the
best proof of their truthfulness and impartiality."
6 Testimony of General Fiske, ibid. p. 32.
7 Testimony of General Hatch, ibid. p. 4.
8 Testimony of General Matthews, ibid. p. 4.
9 Testimony of A. P. Dillinghatn, ibid. p. 116.
THE NATIONAL INQUEST 151
The failure to find the Confederate leaders in sackcloth
and ashes was by no means conclusive proof of disloyalty.
Nothing could have been more unnatural than for those who
had made so many sacrifices for a cause whose rectitude
they never doubted, to have suddenly changed positions,
openly admitted their error, and asked forgiveness. That
there should have been few healthy manifestations of good-
will for the flag which the Southerners associated with all
their woes, could hardly have been expected so soon after the
smoke of battle. Men cannot, by laws and proclamations,
be made to change their affections from one object to another
in a moment, especially if the one has been an object of love
and the other of hate. It was sufficient that in the summer
of 1865 they took solemn oaths to obey the Constitution, and
henceforth defend the flag of the United States. It was
political intolerance to cite, as a proof of continued disloyalty,
the admiration of the people for Davis, and their preference
for Confederate leaders for positions of honor and trust. It
was a subject of special complaint, and was cited as a further
proof of disloyalty that Humphreys, an unpardoned Confed-
erate brigadier general, was elected governor in 1865, over
Judge Fisher, a non-combatant during the Civil War. The
truth is, Humphreys was as much opposed to secession as his
opponent, but, unlike the judge, he was unable to escape the
snares of the conscript officer, had he wished to do so. Being
a gallant soldier and a man of personal popularity, he easily
defeated his opponent. With good taste, the people, in 1865,
chose few original secessionists to offices of importance. All
the members elected to Congress were Whigs, except one, who
was a Union Democrat. All had originally opposed secession,
but after secession became a reality, they could not avoid mili-
tary service had they so desired. It was not dishonorable
that the people were faithful to their leaders, and that the
candidacy of any man who had been indifferent to the success
of the Confederacy should be looked upon with disfavor. The
sense of appreciation for faithful military service and skilful
leadership was as keen in the South as anywhere. This was
nowhere better illustrated than by the liberal appropriations
made for the defence of Davis, and the setting aside of one-
fifth of the state revenues to furnish maimed soldiers with
artificial limbs. Few men were more unpopular in Missis-
sippi in 1865 than Davis, yet the fact that he was the chosen
chief of the Confederacy kept alive a feeling of attachment
which the disasters for which he was largely responsible could
not eradicate. As one man put it, "I don't like Jeff Davis,
152 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
but he was our leader, and we would be mean creatures if,
when he is reviled, we should not defend him." l
One of the subjects of investigation by the reconstruction
committee was the alleged formation of historical societies in
Mississippi. Governor Humphreys had, in February, 1866,
suggested to the superintendent of army records the organi-
zation of a state historical society, and of local affiliated
societies. The reason given was the rapid passing of many
of the actors in the recent history of the state, that " one
side of the story had been written, and the world's verdict
had been rendered against the South and her people."2
The purpose of the local societies was to gather historical
data for the central society. General Grierson professed to
have discovered in this an " organization for the renewal of
the rebellion." The following is the testimony on the
point : —
Mr. Boutwell : Have you seen an order [letter] purporting to
have been issued by Governor Humphreys, advising the organiza-
tion of historical societies in Mississippi ?
General Grierson : I have.
Q. Do you suppose that order to be genuine ?
A. I do.
Q. What is the purpose of these societies ?
A. One purpose is said to be to collect the records of distin-
guished soldiers in the Confederate service, and forward them to
the state capitol for preservation.
Q. Do you know anything of the societies ?
A. No, sir.
Q. Do you know whether any were organized before you left ?
A. Yes, sir. I know of several.
Q. Do you know whether any of the people belong to them ?
A. I think they all belong to them, at least they give their aid
and assistance in furnishing documents.3
What connection the organization of historical societies
had with the loyalty of the people and the fitness of the
1 Charles Nordhoff : Cotton States in 1875, p. 82.
2 The letter is printed with the reconstruction testimony, pt. iii. p. 123.
8 Ibid. p. 144. The character of this testimony well illustrates the practice
of the post bellum Southern committees in inquiring into the domestic institu-
tions of the people and their social habits and customs, their political opinions
and prejudices. The constitutional right of Congress to enforce by appro-
priate legislation the Thirteenth Amendment would perhaps sanction an
investigation of any alleged violation of that amendment, but there is no
constitutional authority for such an investigation as the above, where there
was no pretence that the amendment had been violated. The instructions of
the reconstruction committee were to " inquire into the condition of the Con-
federate states, and report whether they were entitled to representation."
THE NATIONAL INQUEST 153
state for representation in Congress, does not appear from
the report of the committee. The most probable explanation
is, that in the opinion of the majority, the collection and
preservation of historical data relative to alleged "Yankee
depredations," was not conducive to loyalty.
The witness who was most competent to testify on Missis-
sippi affairs, both from his wide acquaintance, his official
relation, and his conservatism, was Governor Sharkey. He
told the committee that the people had given up all idea of
secession ; that the secessionist party admitted that they had
made a " most miserable failure," and that they felt sore over
having involved the country in such terrible calamities ; that
the state government was in the hands of original Union men,
with the exception of the supreme bench, which, he regretted
to say, was occupied by secessionists ; l that so far as obedi-
ence to the laws was concerned, the people were loyal, and
were disposed to do the freedmen justice ; that the recent
legislation relative to freedmen violated the Constitution,
which gave them the right to hold real and personal prop-
erty; and that the military leaders had taken the oath of
allegiance, were conducting themselves honorably, and were
anxious to be restored to the Union. The governor declared
that the freedmen had gone to work and were doing well,
but that the chief obstacle to good feeling between them and
the whites was the Freedmen's Bureau and the presence of
negro troops. He was sanguine enough to believe that had
these been withdrawn, he could have had a " perfect state of
order " in two weeks after his appointment. In regard to
the obligations incurred by the state government during the
war, he said they had, with one or two exceptions, been
repudiated ; that the people were glad of an opportunity to be
relieved of them, and he did not think that a dollar of the debt
would ever be paid. The governor did not deny that much
crime existed in the state, but he attributed it to the demoral-
ization incident to the disbandment of the armies, and the
collapse of civil government in some communities. Governor
Sharkey's views as to returning loyalty, no doubt represented
the opinions of the more intelligent and conservative citizens.
After all, it is their opinions only that possess any historical
value. On the whole, the conduct of the secession leaders
1 The Jackson Clarion of April 26, 1866, took exception to some of Gov-
ernor Sharkey's allegations on this point, and declared that the air of Wash-
ington City did not agree with him, and asserted that he had better return
home before losing the confidence of the people who bad intrusted him with
so much.
154 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
showed modesty and good taste, though it will be granted that
there were exceptions. For a time after the collapse of the
Confederacy, they declined to make public addresses or take a
conspicuous part in political movements. Ex-Senator Brown
says he studiously avoided every act which might be con-
strued as an attempt to interfere in matters with which a
" proscribed rebel " had nothing to do.1 Governor Clarke
refused to address the legislature so long as he was a " pris-
oner of state under parole." 2 They were all willing to aban-
don the doctrine of secession, provided they might admit that
it was good so long as it lasted. But as the arbitrament of
the sword, if not the logic of the schools, had settled the
question against them, they were willing to accept the result.
This sentiment was expressed in an .address at Vicksburg by
a candidate for the office of Attorney General. He said :
" In 1850, I opposed an attempt to break up the Union, and
in 1860 I did the same. I travelled in Alabama and Missis-
sippi to oppose the measure. But after the state did secede,
I did all in my power to sustain it. I believed in secession
while it lasted, but am now as good a Union man as exists,
and am in favor of breaking down old barriers and making
harmony and peace prevail." 3 A candidate for Congress ex-
pressed a similar opinion. He said : " In 1851, I was a dele-
gate from Lauderdale County to the state convention and
again in 1860. I was opposed to secession, and fought it with
all my power; but after the state seceded, I went with it as
a matter of duty, and sustained it until the day of the sur-
render, with all my heart and soul, mind and body."4 The
sentiment was unanimous in favor of the repudiation of
secession, the acceptance of the result of the war, and the
desire to be restored to the Union, although, they said, we
cannot be expected to give up at once our convictions of
right. Carl Schurz says sentiments like these were repeated
to him hundreds of times in every state he visited, with some
variation of language, according to the different ways of think-
ing, or the frankness or reserve of the different speakers.
Governor A. G. Brown represented a respectable minority
in the view that from the day they laid their arms at the feet
of the conqueror, they had no rights which he was bound to
respect, and that it was absurd for a conquered people to talk
of being degraded by submitting to the will of the conqueror.
1 New York Times, Aug. 22, 1867.
2 Letter in New York Herald of April 3, 1867.
8 Vicksburg Journal, Sept. 19, 1865.
4 Report of Carl Sclmrz, supra, p. 10.
THE NATIONAL INQUEST 155
He thought those who, like himself, were proscribed, had no
legitimate reason for complaint.1 At the same time, he did not
believe that they were guilty of treason, inasmuch as one bel-
ligerent could not commit treason against another.2 Few of the
leaders who joined in the secession movement accepted the re-
sult of the war so unreservedly as did Alcorn, one of the United
States senators-elect. He acknowledged that when he cast
his vote for the ordinance of secession, he did so with the full
understanding that it was an act of rebellion, and that he was
liable to the penalties for treason.3 He expected that his lands
would be confiscated, and himself punished, but he was thank-
ful that neither had happened, and that he had not heard of
any individual who had been punished for treason.4
Chief-Justice Campbell, one of the most intelligent mem-
bers of the Mississippi bar, and a former member of the Con-
federate Congress, said : " I think there never was a people
more thoroughly subdued than the people of the South. They
were sick and tired of war, wearied and worn out ; with the
destruction of the Confederate government and the abolition
of slavery, all cause of enmity between the people of the
United States had passed away, and I think the feeling of an
overwhelming majority of our people was one of readiness to
be faithful to the government." 5
In June, 1866, the reconstruction committee made its
report. The states lately in secession were declared to have
been in a state of anarchy at the close of the war, without
government or constitutions, and sustaining no political rela-
tions to the government of the United States ; that Congress
could not be expected to recognize as valid the election of
representatives from disorganized communities ; that Con-
gress would not be justified in admitting such communities
to a participation in the government of the United States
without providing such constitution or other guarantees as
would tend to secure the civil rights of all citizens of the
republic, a just equality of representation, protection against
claims founded in rebellion and crime, a temporary restora-
tion of the right of suffrage to those who had not actively
participated in the rebellion, and the exclusion from positions
of public trust of a portion of those who had.
1 Speech in New York Times, Aug. 22, 1867.
2 Letter to New York Herald of April 3, 1867. Next to Davis and Quitman,
Brown was the most influential of the secessionists before the war. His course
after the war, however, was conservative.
3 See his inaugural address, March 10, 1870.
4 Address at Helena, 1869.
6 Boutwell Report on Mississippi Elections, 1875, p. 938.
156 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
II. THE RECONSTRUCTION ACTS
The report of the majority of the congressional committee
was accepted by the radicals as " an absolutely truthful pic-
ture of the Southern states at that time," and became the
basis of the reconstruction policy finally adopted.1 The late
"insurrectionary" states were declared to be without legal
governments, and without power to protect life and property.
In order to insure these blessings, the states were grouped
into military administrative districts, and placed under the
authority of the United States. For convenience in admin-
istration, the local subdivisions were retained, and for the
most part the machinery of the civil government was made
use of, although declared illegal in the preamble of the act.
The private law of the territory was not changed by the
acts of Congress, but the military commanders were vested
with full authority to modify or supersede it in their dis-
cretion. The duties of the district commanders were in
general to maintain order, register the new electorate, and
direct the movement for the reestablishment of "repub-
lican " government. For the accomplishment of these ends,
they were given absolute authority over life, liberty, and
property, with the exception that death sentences should
require the approval of the President. The existing state
governments were to be deemed as provisional only, and
in all respects subject to the paramount authority of the
United States at any time to " abolish, control, modify, or
supersede the same." The right of suffrage was conferred
upon the freedmeu, and withheld from a large class of
whites.
It thus appears that the basic idea of the policy adopted
was the duty of Congress to communicate a new political
life to certain communities which had, by some act or other,
put an end to their existence as states. Attempted with-
drawal from the Union, and levying war against the United
States, were alleged by the radicals to be the means by
which the state existence was forfeited. Those who held to
this view were undoubtedly inconsistent when they denied
the validity of the ordinances of secession, as they generally
did. Moreover, these ordinances had either been repealed
or declared null and void, ab initio, by constituent assem-
1 J. G. Blaine, Twenty Years of Congress, II. p. 9.
THE RECONSTRUCTION ACTS 157
blies, and hence could have had no validity in 1867, if
they ever had any. Another view was, not that the states
had by act of rebellion lost their membership in the Union,
but that they had forfeited their right to be treated as states
on an equality with the original members. This would be
a more rational view, were there any constitutional authority
for a class of states in our Federal system not on an equality
with the original states. And even if it be granted that the
Union is not one of equals, it cannot be seriously claimed
that Congress, as an agent of the sovereign, could have the
authority to establish the inequality and define its extent.
This would be an exercise of constituent powers, while the
creation of states and the delimitation of their spheres of
activity is, under our system, an act of the sovereign, and
not of the government. Moreover, in assuming that the
states were still in rebellion, that their governments were
illegal, and that life and property were insecure, Congress
seems to have gone to unnecessary lengths. As a matter of
fact, the commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the
United States had more than a year before officially pro-
claimed the rebellion at an end, and there was probably not
a Confederate soldier in arms against the government. As
for the alleged illegality of the state governments, it is suffi-
cient to say that they were organized in the regular American
way, and for the most part in accordance with constitutions
and laws made before the passage of the ordinances of seces-
sion, and whose validity Congress never denied ; and made
by men who, if they had forfeited their political rights by
rebellion, had, nevertheless, received the executive pardon
which absolved them from the legal consequences of their
actions. Moreover, these governments had been recognized
by the chief executive as legal governments. His right to
do so seems to be well settled.1
The duty of the United States to guarantee " republican "
government to the states was relied upon by Congress as a
justification for its action. The exact content of the term
" republican" government had not been expressly defined
in 1865. By the well established principles of the public
law of the United States, it may be said to have meant
government by representatives, chosen by the political
people.2 Judged by this test, the governments in the
Southern states could hardly be said to have been unre-
1 Luther vs. Borden, 7 How. 1.
2 Cooley, Principles of Const. Law, p. 213.
158 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
publican. In Mississippi, certainly, all adult male citizens,
with a few unimportant exceptions, were vested with the
suffrage. This statement, of course, assumes that mere
emancipation did not elevate the freedmen to citizenship.
If the civil rights act of 1866 was a constitutional measure,
it does not alter the case. The mere declaration of Congress
that certain classes of persons within a commonwealth are
citizens of the United States, does not invest them with
the suffrage. If anything was more clearly established than
another as a part of our public law in 1865, it was the prin-
ciple that the definition of the electorate had been left by
the sovereign to the several commonwealths. No attempt
was made by the sovereign to alter that principle until 1868.
Hence the action of the government in investing the late slaves
with the suffrage in 1867, as well as its action in subverting
the state governments, was one of doubtful validity. Able
Southern jurists saw at once a possible escape from the
" horrors " of reconstruction by a resort to the courts.
The congressional policy had barely gone into operation
in Mississippi, when a movement was set on foot to pre-
vent its further execution. The method adopted was an
application to the Supreme Court of the United States
for a bill of injunction against the President and the
district commander, to restrain them from enforcing the
reconstruction acts. Ex-Governor Sharkey and Hon. Rob-
ert J. Walker appeared as counsel for the state. The bill
which they asked permission to file declared that the
attempt of a portion of the people to dissolve the connec-
tion between the state and the United States was null
and void, and consequently the state was then, as it had
always been, a member of the Federal Union, unimpaired
and indestructible, and, being such, Congress could not
constitutionally expel it from the Union.1 The petitioners
furthermore maintained that they had good reason to
believe that Andrew Johnson, a citizen of Tennessee, in
violation of the Constitution of the United States, and of
the sacred rights of the states, would soon proceed, in
pursuance of a mere ministerial duty against his own will,
1 The Jackson Clarion of April 12, 1867, took exception to the allegation
that secession was the work of a portion of the people of the state, and de-
clared it to be untruthful — " a plea of not guilty to an act which is unjustly
alleged to be a crime, and which all the world knows the state did deliberately
commit." The editor declared it to have been the act of nineteen-twentieths
of the people, and the attempt to throw the consequences upon a portion of
the citizens violated the truth of history. " If their argument is true," he
continued, "there is no hope for Mr. Davis."
THE RECONSTRUCTION ACTS 159
to execute the said acts as though they were the law of
the land. They alleged that the so-called reconstruction
acts would in effect annihilate the state and its govern-
ment, and render every citizen liable to deprivation of life,
liberty, and property at the breath of a military com-
mander, without the benefit of trial by jury, and without
the observance of any of those requirements and guar-
antees by which the Constitution and laws protect the
rights of the citizen. They farther alleged that the duty
of the President in the premises, being merely ministerial,
was subject to the control of the courts.1 The court refused
to allow the bill to be filed on the ground that for reasons
of expediency and policy the President should not be
interfered with by the courts in the performance of his
duties. No opinion was expressed as to the constitution-
ality of the reconstruction acts.2 The petitioners then
decided not to aim so high, and with others filed a bill
against the Secretary of War, the general of the army, and
the commander of the third district. The court in this case
held that it had no jurisdiction over the subject-matter
presented in the bill, and accordingly deemed it unimpor-
tant to examine the question as it respected jurisdiction
over the parties defendant.3
Soon after this, a case involving the validity of the recon-
struction acts came before the Supreme Court on appeal from
a military commission sitting at Vicksburg. For a while,
things looked gloomy for the reconstructionists, as there ap-
peared to be no way by which the court could avoid a deci-
sion on the points involved. A decision in their favor would
have been of great value to the party, but the risk of an
adverse opinion was too great to be incurred. Consequently,
after the arguments had been made, and while the case was
under advisement, Congress with " unwonted celerity " passed
an act depriving the court of jurisdiction in the particular
case, and of all others of a similar character.4 Thus perished
the hopes of the opponents of the congressional policy.
Every effort to have the Supreme Court pass upon the valid-
ity of the reconstruction acts failed either through evasion
upon the part of the court or through the vigilance and
1 The arguments of Sharkey and Walker fill five columns of the New
York Herald of April 6, 1867. Walker's and Stanberry's arguments are
printed in the New York World of April 13, 1867.
2 Mississippi vs. Johnson, 4 Wall. 475.
8 Georgia vs. Stanton, 6 Wall. 57.
* Ex parte McCardle, 6 Wall. 318 ; 7 Wall. 514.
160 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
activity of Congress in depriving it of jurisdiction in cases
where the question was involved.
There was rumor of a movement to arrest the district com-
mander in Mississippi by the local authorities, on a charge of
treason against the state, and thus compel the courts to take
cognizance of the case.1 Steps were also alleged to have
been taken to secure a mandamus to compel Congress to
admit the representatives of the state to seats in that body.
Reverdy Johnson, to whom application is said to have been
made, was too good a lawyer to undertake the task of secur-
ing the mandamus. After the defeat of the constitution in
1868, proceedings in the nature of a quo warranto were insti-
tuted against General Ames, who was district commander
and also provisional governor, requiring him to appear
before the Circuit Court at Jackson to show by what author-
ity he held the office and executed the duties of governor
of Mississippi. But the attempt to oust the commander
did not turn out successfully, and he continued in the dis-
charge of his duties until the readmission of the state to the
Union.
Although the validity of the reconstruction acts was never
passed upon by the Supreme Court, their constitutionality
was affirmed by the United States district judge in Missis-
sippi in a habeas corpus proceeding.2
The same judge upheld the enforcement act, another
measure which may be said to have constituted a part of
the congressional policy.3 The civil rights act does not
appear to have come before the United States district court
in Mississippi, although it was passed upon by the chief jus-
tice of the state, one of the " original secessionists " whose
election to the bench had been the subject of Sharkey's
lamentations before the reconstruction committee. The case
was a habeas corpus proceeding instituted by a freedman who
was in custody for carrying firearms in violation of a state
law. The plaintiff alleged that the Thirteenth Amendment
made him free, and ipso facto vested him with all the rights
of a citizen under the Constitution of the United States, one
of which was the right to bear arms. The chief justice
thought otherwise, and held that the Thirteenth Amend-
ment absolved the negro from slavery, but left his social and
political status "to the developments of time and experi-
ence." Whether as a state judge it was within his province
1 New York Herald, April 10, 1867. 2 Ex parte McCardle, supra.
8 Ex parte Walton et al. See Affairs in Insur. States, (Miss.) Vol. II.
p. 986, for the text of the decision.
MILITARY GOVERNMENT UNDER GENERAL ORD 161
to declare an act of Congress null and void was a question
which he said he had maturely considered, and was satisfied
that it was his duty. "Under a solemn sense of official
duty," he said, " I am therefore constrained to hold that the
act of Congress in question is in contravention of the Con-
stitution of the United States as to the matter now presented
for my action, and is inoperative and void."1 The decision
no doubt reflected the prevailing opinion in the state, but
the right of the judge in the premises was not seriously
maintained by the bar, and, of course, the military authori-
ties did not permit its enforcement.
In general, therefore, it may be said that whatever doubts
may have existed as to the constitutionality of the congres-
sional policy, it was carried out with great thoroughness, and
with practically no interference from the courts.
III. MILITARY GOVERNMENT UNDER GENERAL ORD
Shortly after the enactment of the reconstruction measures,
the President assigned General E. O. C. Ord to the com-
mand of the fourth military district, embracing the states
of Mississippi and Arkansas, with headquarters at Vicksburg.
General Ord was a native of Maryland, a graduate of West
Point, commanded Sherman's right wing at Corinth, his left
wing at Jackson, and was present at the surrender of Vicks-
burg. He was not, therefore, an entire stranger in Missis-
sippi at the time of his appointment as district commander.
On March 26, he issued a general order informing the people
of his appointment, and a week later came to Jackson and
spent several days as the guest of the civil governor, visiting
and inspecting the public institutions, forming acquaintances
with leading citizens, and gathering such information as
would be of value to him in discharging the difficult duties
which the reconstruction acts imposed upon him. He was
waited on by many of the citizens who were pleased with
his "firm but generous and judicious demeanor."2 The
Jackson Clarion assured him that all the people, botlj officers
and private citizens, would "strive conscientiously to pro-
1 The full text of the opinion is printed in the New York Times of Oct. 26,
1866.
2 The Clarion of April 4 said that the district commander had made a
favorable impression by his visit to Jackson. " He is," said the editor, " an
educated officer of the old United States army, and who in fighting the battles
of his government during the late war obeyed orders, and did what he doubtless
believed to be his duty. The war having closed, he has no spirit of revenge or
162 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
mote the public peace and avoid collisions with the military
power." This seems to have been the general feeling.
The district commander's duties were of a twofold charac-
ter : first, the maintenance of peace and order ; second, the
registration of the new electorate and the direction of the
movement for reestablishment of civil government. In
the discharge of the first class of duties, it was necessary, to
some extent, to reconstruct the official organization which he
found, to modify the private law so as to make it conform to
the new order of things, and to detect and punish crime.
Shortly after General Ord assumed command, many of
the civil officers, on account of the uncertainty as to what
policy he would pursue, abandoned their offices, while some
of the citizens hesitated or refused to pay taxes, in the be-
lief that the collectors were not competent officials. The
governor accordingly issued a proclamation informing the
people that the reconstruction acts recognized the civil
government, and that the relations and responsibilities of
civil officers to the Constitution remained unchanged until
the civil government should be superseded. Civil officers
were informed that they would be held to a strict accounta-
bility for the performance of their duties, and all good citi-
zens were admonished to assist the civil authorities in the
maintenance of peace, to deal " justly and indulgently with
each other in their political helplessness," and to offer no
resistance to the military authorities except such as might
be authorized by the courts. They were also directed to
pay the taxes assessed upon them for the support of the civil
government.1 One of the first orders of the new commander
was to authorize all competent civil officers to arrest and
punish offenders against the laws, " so as to obviate as far as
possible the necessity for the exercise of military authority
under the reconstruction acts."2 As his civil functions were
limited chiefly to the maintenance of peace and order, he did
not regard it necessary to instruct civil officers as to their
duties when their functions did not relate to these subjects.
He assumed, as a matter of course, that they would continue
to perform their duties without authority from military
headquarters.
partisan malice to gratify, and will strive to execute the law, under which he
is acting, to the letter. Our people will ask no exemptions which are not
accorded to their brethren of the other excluded states."
1 Jackson Clarion, April 6, 1867.
2 Correspondence Relative to "Reconstruction, Sen. Docs. 1st Ses. 40th Cong.
p. 144.
MILITARY GOVERNMENT UNDER GENERAL, ORD 163
While the district commander was not specially author-
ized at first to remove civil officers, it was the spirit of the
reconstruction acts that vacancies should be filled with
" loyal " incumbents. General Ord, therefore, notified the
people that no elections would be held to fill vacancies
until a registration of voters was made in accordance with
the reconstruction acts. Civil officers of the state govern-
ment were directed to inform him of all vacancies occurring,
in order that he might fill them. Local officers were now
authorized to continue in the performance of their duties
until otherwise directed or until removed.1 In reply to a
telegraphic inquiry from the Secretary of War concerning a
report that he had threatened to disperse the legislature and
take possession of the public money, records, and other public
property of the state, General Ord said that he had made
no threats to depose any civil officer except for failure to do
impartial justice to persons accused of crime, and that he
contemplated no seizures of state property unless it was found
that the laws of Congress could not be enforced otherwise.
No civil officer, he said, had been displaced except in certain
cases where incumbents had been tried by military commis-
sions and convicted.2 The unpleasant duty of removing
all the civil officers was imposed upon a later district com-
mander. Ord was, however, by the act of July 19, author-
ized to remove all disloyal persons in office, but the offices
were not actually declared vacant until February, 1869. On
the 29th of July, he notified all state and local officers of the
special laws of Congress for the reorganization of the state
government on the basis of suffrage, without regard to color,
and informed them that any attempt to render nugatory those
laws by speeches or demonstrations would be regarded as a
sufficient cause for summary removal.3 Again they were
reminded that it was made the duty of the commanding gen-
eral to remove from office all disloyal persons, and all who
used their official influence in any way to obstruct the proper
administration of the reconstruction measures. This an-
nouncement was shortly followed by the removal of most of
the municipal officers of Vicksburg, in order to " secure an
1 All the special and general orders of the military districts under the
reconstruction acts, together with the records of proceedings of military
commissions, have been collected, chronologically arranged, and bound by
General F. C. Ainsworth of the War Department. The more important
orders, however, are printed in the Correspondence Relative to Reconstruc-
tion.
2 Cor. Rel. to Recon., p. 138. 8 Appleton's Ann. Cyclop. 1867, p. 676.
164 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
equal and just administration of the laws upon all alike, and
to secure the best interests of the citizens thereof." Several
local officers were also removed in Choctaw, Kemper, Holmes,
Neshoba, and Washington counties. The aggregate num-
ber of removals by General Ord probably did not exceed
twenty-five. The total number of appointments made by
him was about seventy, all being for local offices.1 The diffi-
culty of finding suitable persons who could qualify made it
necessary in some instances to leave the offices vacant. Thus,
no person could be found in Leake County who possessed the
necessary qualifications for the office of sheriff. A Northern
man was appointed and sent to the county. Some of those
who could take the oath were not disposed to defy public
sentiment by accepting office under a "military despotism."
One of Ord's appointees was I. T. Montgomery, formerly
a slave of Jefferson Davis. He was made a justice of
the peace, and was probably the first negro in the state to
hold a public office.2 There was no loud protest against Ord's
policy toward the civil officers. He made as few removals
as his sense of duty dictated.
General Ord's duties in the field of legislation related for
the most part to police administration, the regulation of
labor, and the status of freedmen. To " preserve health and
prevent epidemics," non-resident persons were forbidden to
congregate in towns. A weekly inspection of all garrisoned
towns was ordered, and occupants were directed to keep their
premises in order. Orders were also issued to prohibit the
carrying of concealed weapons. The economic and social
1 The following is a list of General Ord's appointments : —
Justices of the peace 13
Circuit clerks ...... 2
Members board of police .... 12
Probate judges 3
Constables 4
Circuit judges 2
County administrators .... 6
Sheriffs 10
Aldermen 7
Mayors 7
Magistrates 2
County treasurers 1
Marshals ....... 1
Recorders . 1
Assessors 1
Total ^
2 Montgomery was the only colored member of the Constitutional Con-
vention of 1890, and is at present the mayor of Mound Bayou, Mississippi.
MILITARY GOVERNMENT UNDER GENERAL ORD 165
demoralization of the time, together with the general impov-
erishment, developed a widespread sentiment in favor of sus-
pending or wiping out private debts. Accordingly, the
military commanders in most of the districts were over-
whelmed with petitions praying for the enactment of stay
laws. General Ord was not able to withstand the pressure,
and on the 12th of June, he issued an order staying and sus-
pending, until the 30th of December, 1867, all proceedings
for the sale of land under cultivation, or of the crops, stock,
implements, or other material used in tilling such land, in
pursuance of any execution or writ, where the debt was con-
tracted prior to January 1, 1866. All interferences under color
of legal process with tenants in cultivating the growing crops
was forbidden, except where the crops had been hypothe-
cated for money or supplies.
The purpose of the order was alleged to be to " secure to
labor its hire or just share of the crops, and to protect debtors
and creditors from the sacrifices of property by forced sales "
in the then impoverished condition of the country. Occasional
orders were issued to stay executions in individual cases.
Sheriffs, by another order, were directed to exempt from
seizure and sale by distress for rent, all property exempt
from execution or attachment by the terms of the homestead
exemption act of Mississippi.
Sub-district and post commanders were ordered to seize all
distilleries that did not pay the legal taxes assessed on them,
and sell their property for the benefit of the poor. It was
alleged that corn, so much needed by the poor, was being
illicitly made into whiskey.
A considerable part of General Ord's legislation related to
the freedmen. He issued an order congratulating them that
they now held a common interest in the general prosperity
of the state, but at the same time he reminded them that
prosperity did not depend so much upon how they voted, as
upon how they labored and kept their contracts. He informed
them that the most important duty devolving upon them in
their new condition was to make provision for the .support
of themselves and their families. They were admonished
not to neglect their business to engage in political discussion,
but to continue to comply with their contracts, and thus avoid
the threatened famine. They were assured that at the proper
time for them to have their names registered as voters they
should be informed through the proper channels.
Orders were then issued at different times to prevent dis-
crimination against them in the administration of the laws.
166 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
Thus, it was ordered that whipping or maiming as a punish-
ment for crime, misdemeanor, or other offence should be pro-
hibited. All civil officers were forbidden to collect any tax
on freedmen as a class, that was not imposed upon all persons
without distinction of race or color. Such a tax was alleged
to be inconsistent with the civil rights act.
Another order required agents of the Freedmen's Bureau
to investigate all charges against landholders for driving
off freedmen with a view to withholding from them their
arrears of wages. The removal of all crops was forbidden
until the shares of laborers were ascertained and assigned to
them. Post commanders were directed to investigate all
complaints made by persons who claimed to have been perse-
cuted by the civil authorities for opinion's sake, and to forward
to headquarters a full report of the same, together with the
testimony and affidavits taken in the course of the investiga-
tion. An order of September 10 directed all persons within
the state, who had voluntarily exiled themselves since April,
1865, to report in person or in writing at the headquarters
of the commanding general within thirty days. Another,
informed overseers of the poor that every neglect to provide
for colored paupers would be a dereliction of duty. Another,
directed that persons indicted for criminal offences, and who
were willing to make affidavit that during the war they were
in the Federal service, and for that reason could not get jus-
tice in the civil courts, might transmit the papers in the case
and the names of witnesses to headquarters, for trial by
military commission.
The large amount of theft in General Ord's district seems
to have claimed a good deal of his attention. One of the
most common offences of this kind was the stealing of seed
cotton, the demand for which made its sale an easy matter.
To diminish the amount of this traffic, General Ord enacted
that it should be a military as well as a civil offence, and
therefore triable by military commission, and that no person
after June 1, 1868, should be permitted to purchase country
produce without a license from the mayor in incorporated
towns, and from a member of the county board in country
districts. Heavy penalties were prescribed for violations of
the order.
Another offence of this kind was horse stealing. For the
suppression of it, General Ord adopted rather drastic meas-
ures. He refused to allow the civil courts to take juris-
diction of such offences, but tried them before military
commissions constituted by himself. Post commanders
MILITARY GOVERNMENT UNDER GENERAL ORD 167
were directed to despatch forces of mounted men in search
of such thieves, upon receiving reliable information that a
theft had been committed in the neighborhood of their re-
spective posts. Civil authorities were requested to hand
over to the military officials such offenders of this class as
were in their custody. All good citizens were urgently re-
quested to cooperate with the commanding general in his
efforts to break up the " nefarious trade," by giving full and
explicit information, and by volunteering to act as guides.
He asked for permission to imprison in the Dry Tortugas
such thieves as were sentenced by military commission, be-
lieving that the moral effect would be wholesome. The per-
mission was granted with certain restrictions, and a number
of persons were thus punished.
General Ord's interference with the civil authorities does
not seem to have been very general, although he occasionally
exercised his power in a way that led to loud complaints.
The legislature was in session when he assumed command,
and although he did not disperse it as he did the Arkansas
legislature, such of its acts as were not conducive to the
success of the congressional policy, as he understood it, were
not permitted to be enforced. Thus, he suspended all action
that had been taken in Scott County for the removal of the
courthouse until an election could be held by the qualified
voters under the reconstruction acts. Verdicts of juries and
judgments of courts in a few instances were set aside or
modified. His interference with the judicial authorities led
the chief justice to resign his position.1 The other members
of the court followed his example shortly thereafter.
The freedom of the press and of speech was tolerated only
to a limited extent. An "unreconstructed" white man in
Newton County was tried before a military commission and
given ninety days' hard labor at the Dry Tortugas for allow-
ing himself in the heat of passion to say that if it were in
his power he would blow the old government to atoms, that
the registration of negroes was a " humbug," and that no true
Southern man could or would take the oath. Another man
was given two years for "insulting the flag."
Two Vicksburg editors were tried before a military com-
1 In his letter of resignation, the chief justice declared that the character
and dignity of the court could not be maintained, since its powers must be
held and exercised in subordination to the behests of a military commander.
"The conduct of the commanding general," said he, u is such an invasion of
the legitimate powers of the judiciary as to place it in a condition of military
duress in which I cannot seem to acquiesce by acting under it." Davis,
Rise and Fall of the Confederacy, II. pp. 753-754.
168 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
mission for publishing libels against each other. The most
noteworthy instance of General Ord's interference with the
press was the well-known case of Colonel Me Car die, the
editor of the Vicksburg Times. Colonel McCardle took occa-
sion to severely criticise the general's course in particular,
and the congressional policy in general. On November 13,
1867, a squad of soldiers under the command of a lieu-
tenant filed into the Times office, arrested the editor, and
sent him to the headquarters of General Gillem, where he
was confined in a military prison. Shortly thereafter, he
was brought for trial before a military commission upon
the charge of denouncing General Ord as a usurper and
a despot, with defaming the character of a certain agent
of the Freedmen's Bureau, and with advising voters to
remain away from the polls on the occasion of the election
to ascertain whether a convention was desired to secure
the readmission of the state.1 These specifications were a
part of the general charge of impeding the execution of the
reconstruction laws. The prisoner applied to the United
States Circuit Court for a writ of habeas corpus. The writ was
issued, and Colonel McCardle was given a hearing by Judge
Robert A. Hill, who held that the question presented involved
the constitutionality of the reconstruction acts, in pursuance
of which the prisoner had been arrested. He decided that
those acts were constitutional, that the powers vested in
the commanding general had not been transcended by him,
and that the prisoner was subject to arrest and trial before
a military commission without indictment or jury. He
was accordingly remanded to the custody of the military
authorities. He appealed to the Supreme Court of the
United States under the act of February 5, 1867, authorizing
appeals in such cases, and upon entering into his recog-
nizance of $1000 conditioned for his appearance before that
tribunal, he was released.2 Before a decision could be
reached Congress passed an act depriving the court of
jurisdiction of the case.
The following is a complete list of the cases tried by
military commissions during General Ord's administration,
together with the name of the place where the offence was
committed, and the punishment in each case : 3 —
1 The following well-known army officers constituted the commission that
tried Colonel McCardle : General Gillem, General Penny packer, Major John
Power, Major Lynde Catlin, Major S. S. Simmer, and Major D. G. Swain.
2 Ex parte McCardle, 7 Wall. 506.
8 This list is compiled from " The Special and General Orders of the
Fourth District."
MILITARY GOVERNMENT UNDER GENERAL ORD 169
OFFENOB.
WHERE COMMITTED.
PUNISHMENT.
1
Larceny of a horse . .
Adams County . .
2 years' imprisonment in
the penitentiary.
2
Larceny of a horse . .
Yazoo County . .
6 months' imprisonment.
3
Larceny of a horse . .
Adams County . .
1 yr. (colored offender).
4
Larceny of a horse . .
Claiborne County .
lyr. (col'd offender).
K
L&rcGnv of £i liors©
cl
6
Larceny of a horse . .
Oktibbeha County .
6 mo. (col'd offender).
7
Larceny of a mule . .
Lauderdale County,
2yr.
8
Larceny of a mule . .
Warren County
lyr.
9
Larceny of a mule . .
Marshall County .
2yr.
10
Larceny of a mule . .
Washington Co.
Acquitted (col'd offender).
11
Larceny of a horse . .
Hinds County . .
1 yr. (col'd offender) .
12
Larceny of a horse . .
Hinds County . .
Acquitted.
13
Robbery
Noxubee County
Acquitted.
14
Larceny of a horse . .
Issaquena County .
1 yr. (2 col'd offenders) .
15
Murder of a negro . .
Panola County . .
10 yr.
16
Rape and subornation of
periurv •
Kemper County
Acquitted.
17
Larceny of a horse . .
Lowndes County .
2yr.
18
Larceny of a mule . .
Monroe County
3 yr. (col'd offender) .
19
Larceny of two mules .
Marshall County .
5yr.
20
Larceny of a horse . .
Amite County . .
lyr.
21
Larceny of a horse . .
Carroll County . .
4yr.
22
Larceny of a horse . .
Madison County .
3 yr. (col'd offender).
23
Disloyal utterances and
deterring negroes from
registering ....
Newton County
3 mo. at the Dry Tortugas.
24
Larceny of a horse . .
Adams County . .
2 yr. (col'd offender).
25
Larceny of a horse . .
Jefferson County .
2yr. (col'd offender).
26
Assault on negro . . .
Warren County . .
2yr.
27
Larceny of a horse . .
Lee County . . .
6 mo. (col'd offender) .
28
Larceny of a horse . .
Copiah County . .
Acquitted.
29
Larceny of a mule . .
Warren County . .
Acquitted.
30
Larceny of a mule . .
Grenada County .
Acquitted.
31
Assault on negro . . .
Marshall County .
2yr.
32
Assault on negro . . .
Marshall County .
3yr.
33
Larceny of five mules .
Yazoo County . .
5 yr. hard labor at Dry
Tortugas.
34
Selling pistol to soldier .
Warren County .
6 mo. and fine of $200.
35
Larceny of a mule . .
Simpson County .
lyr.
36
Larceny of three horses,
Pike County . . .
5 yr. at Dry Tortugas.
37
Larceny of twelve horses,
Warren and Hinds
•
counties . . .
5 yr. at Dry Tortugas.
38
Larceny of a horse . .
Claiborne County .
5 yr. at Dry Tortugas.
39
Larceny of a horse . .
Claiborne County .
Acquitted.
40
Larceny of a mule . .
Jefferson County .
2 yr. at Dry Tortugas.
41
Burglary and robbery .
Pike County . . .
7 yr. and 2 mo. at Dry Tor-
tugas.
170 RECONSTBUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
It is well to remember that in all these cases the offenders
were civilians, and in no way connected with the military
service. In no case was there a presentment or indictment
by a grand jury, although the accused was furnished with a
written copy of the charges against him ; nor was there a
trial by a jury of the vicinage, nor were the well-established
forms of judicial procedure followed ; yet, according to the
proclamation of the President, the rebellion had come to an
end more than a year before, and the courts, both state and
Federal, were open and in the full and unobstructed discharge
of their accustomed functions. Every effort to have the Su-
preme Court of the United States pass upon the validity of
such proceedings in the South was defeated, sometimes by
methods of questionable propriety. Trial by military com-
mission in a Northern state where the courts were open was
held to be unconstitutional.1
Next to the McCardle case, the most notable instance of a
trial before military commission in Mississippi was that of
E. M. Yerger, editor of the Jackson News. He was charged
with slaying Lieutenant Colonel Crane of the United States
army and acting mayor of Jackson by military appointment.
He was arrested by the military authorities, and taken before
a military commission presided over by Brigadier General
R. S. Granger. His counsel protested against the authority
of a military tribunal to try him, alleged that he was a
citizen of Mississippi not in the service of the army or navy
of the United States, and consequently, the civil courts of
the state were competent to deal with him on the regular
indictment by a grand jury. The objections were overruled,
whereupon Yerger applied to the Circuit Court of the United
States for a writ of habeas corpus, which was granted. The
court decided that the imprisonment was lawful, and ordered
that the prisoner be remanded to the custody of the military
authorities, to be held to answer the charges brought against
him. To obtain release from imprisonment Yerger asked
for a writ of certiorari to have the case taken to the United
States Supreme Court for review, and for a writ of habeas
corpus. October 25, 1868, the chief justice gave his decision,
affirming the power of the court to issue the writ, but gave
no opinion as to the power of a military commission to try
1 Ex parte Milligan, 4 Wall. 2, 120. Attorney General Hoar, in an opinion
of May 31, 1869, held that the district commander in any state undergoing
reconstruction might take a man from the civil power and try him before a
military commission, and according to martial law, even though neither party
was in the military or naval service of the United States.
REGISTRATION OF THE NEW ELECTORATE 171
a civilian in time of peace without a jury and without
indictment by a grand jury.1 The hearing on this all-im-
portant question was postponed until the next term of the
court. Before the case was reached, the military govern-
ment of the state had come to an end, and Yerger was
handed over to the civil officers for trial. Thus, what
would have doubtless been an interesting and important
decision was avoided.
Such, in brief, was the administration of General Ord, so
far as his first class of duties was concerned. There were
local charges that he abused his powers and was an irrespon-
sible despot, but it does not appear that he violated the spirit
of the reconstruction acts, although it will be admitted that he
might have administered them with less rigor and severity.
IV. REGISTRATION OF THE NEW ELECTORATE
The chief political duty of General Ord was to make a
careful registration of the new electorate, as defined by the
reconstruction acts. To protect the registration officers from
interference while in the discharge of their duties, he made
liberal requisitions upon the War Department for troops, and
organized a large number of parties of mounted men to assist
in the work of registration.2 On the 15th of April, he
appointed by special order a board of four military officers,
who were charged with the duty of dividing the state into a
convenient number of election districts for the purpose of
facilitating the work of registration. It was also made the
duty of this board to examine and recommend applicants for
the position of registrar, and in order to procure suitable
persons, the board was directed to correspond with the
"most prominent and reliable Union men of the. state."
That none but " loyal " men should be appointed, the board
was directed to make a record in each case, giving fully the
1 Ex parte Yerger, 8 Wall. 85.
2 The following was the strength and distribution of the military force in
the state at the time of the registration : —
STRENGTH.
Vicksburg 269 men Pass Christian .... 80 men
Brookhaven 80
Meridian 83
Jackson 242
Winchester 77
Woodville 77
Natchez 86
Grenada 256
Columbus 161
Holly Springs .... 162
Corinth 167
YazooCity 77
172 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
reasons for recommending the applicant.1 A board of three
registrars was appointed for each county. Each appointee
was required to subscribe to and file in the office of the
commanding general an oath that he had never voluntarily
borne arms against the United States ; that he had never
given aid, countenance, counsel, or encouragement to persons
engaged in armed hostility thereto ; and that he had never
sought, accepted, or attempted to exercise the functions of
any office whatever under the authority or pretended authority
in hostility to the United States, nor yielded a voluntary sup-
port to any such authority. Of course, few of the native
whites could take this oath. As a consequence, General
Ord's registrars were for the most part freedmen, military
officers, and ex-Union soldiers who had settled in the state
since the close of the war.2
The first board of registrars was appointed by special
order on April 24. Other appointments followed in quick
succession, until the 80th of May, when the last registry
board was completed.3 They were directed to select suit-
able offices and begin at once the registration of the electors.
The several counties were to be divided into a suitable num-
ber of precincts, each of which was to be visited by the
registrars in person after giving five days' notice, and they
were to remain sufficiently long at each precinct to enable all
qualified voters to register. Each person registered was to
be furnished with a certificate showing that he was a legal
1 Gen. Orders No. 9, Cor. Rel. to Recon. p. 147. The following was the
detail for the board : General Alvan C. Gillem, Colonel Joseph R. Smith,
Major O. D. Greene, Major Charles A. Wikoff.
2 In an early report to General Grant, Ord announced that he purposed to
visit each county and make his appointments only after personal interviews
with applicants. He also declared his intention of selecting two of the three
election judges in each county from the late volunteer forces, and the third
member from "loyal" residents, when such could be found. In his first
report, he expressed the opinion that there were few such persons in the state,
by which, of course, he meant there were few who could take the iron-clad
oath.
8 The names of the registrars appointed by General Ord, together with the
special orders issued to each board, are to be found in the Correspondence
Relative to Reconstruction, pp. 148-190. The expenses of registration were
very large, on account of the elaborate machinery provided for the purpose.
On July 9, before the work of registration was half completed, the Paymaster
General informed Secretary Stanton that a further appropriation of $245,639
was needed for the completion of reconstruction in the fourth district. He
said: " If General Ord's registrars estimated for to July 1 should be contin-
ued on duty to July 31, there should be added to the above expenses for that
month $159,781, and if continued to the end of August, $319,562." Of the
original appropriation of March 30, 1867, $97,222 had been used in the
fourth district. Report of Secretary of War, 1867, p. 260.
REGISTRATION OF THE NEW ELECTORATE 173
voter under the reconstruction acts. Pending the decision
of the Attorney General as to who were disfranchised, regis-
trars were to give the strictest interpretation to the law,
and exclude every person about whose qualification there
might be any doubt. Any person so excluded, who might,
under the subsequent decision of the Attorney General, be
entitled to vote, would be duly informed and permitted to
register.
On the 10th of June, a circular of instructions to registrars
informed them that they had no power to decide in doubtful
cases upon the question of qualification or disqualification,
but must register all persons who were willing to take the
required oath, although it might be evident that the appli-
cant was perjuring himself. It was the opinion of the com-
manding general that the applicant must determine upon his
own responsibility, and at his peril, his ability or disability.
Registrars were, however, directed to report promptly to
headquarters for investigation by a military commission all
cases in which there was reason to believe that persons dis-
qualified by the reconstruction acts had taken the oath.
They were urged to use every possible means to ascertain
the antecedents of doubtful applicants, and to warn them of
the penalty fixed by the reconstruction acts to the crime of
perjury. If, however, the applicant insisted upon being reg-
istered, he must be given a certificate marked " reported for
investigation."1 General Ord transmitted a copy of these
instructions to General Grant for his approval. In the let-
ter of transmission, he expressed the opinion that the position
he had taken in regard to registration accorded with the
intent of the reconstruction acts, and that with the certainty
of trial before a military commission, few disqualified persons
would have the boldness to take the oath.2 General Grant at
once replied that he entirely dissented from the views of Gen-
eral Ord, and it was his opinion that registrars should use
every means to prevent disqualified persons from registering,
and to that end, they should be empowered to administer oaths
and examine witnesses.3 In a subsequent circular, registrars
were instructed to act in accord with the views of General
Grant on this point, and Congress, by the act of July 19,
made his instructions the law of the land. It provided
further that no person should be entitled to vote by reason
of any executive pardon or amnesty.
1 Cor. Rel. to Recon. p. 142, Circular of June 10.
2 Ibid. p. 141, Letter of June 15. 8 Ibid. p. 143, Despatch of June 23.
174 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
The work of registration began early in June. The
registrars, accompanied by soldiers, clerks, and assistants pro-
ceeded from precinct to precinct. Only males twenty-one
years of age, who had resided in the state one year, and who
could take an oath of which the following was the substance,
were entitled to be registered as legal voters : that the appli-
cant had never been a member of any legislature, nor held
any executive or judicial office and afterward engaged in
rebellion against the United States, or had given aid or com-
fort to its enemies; that he had never taken an oath as a
member of Congress or as an officer of the United States, or
as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or
judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of
the United States, and afterward engaged in insurrection
against it, or gave aid or comfort to its enemies.1 These
stringent requirements in effect disqualified most of the
prominent and influential white citizens, for there were few
of that class who had not at some time held a petty office.
They had all served the cause of the Confederacy.
In the meantime, the work of registration was going on.
General Ord was able to telegraph General Grant June 15
that registration was progressing satisfactorily in thirty-five
counties.2 By the first of July, he reported that the work was
going on in all the counties.3 In a number of places, the
1 Reconstruction act of March 23. The provisions of this oath in effect ex-
tended the disfranchisement beyond the requirements of the act of March 2,
inasmuch as neither conviction, judgment of a court, nor any express
legislative act was required to establish the fact of disfranchisement. Opin.
of Stanberry, Attorney General, May 24, 1867. There was a difference of
opinion as to the meaning of the phrase, " executive and judicial officers of
a state." It was the opinion of the Attorney General that members of the
secession convention, and all persons who during the war acted in an official
capacity, where the duties of the office necessarily had relation to the support
of the Confederacy, were intended to be included in the disqualifying clause.
Officers whose duties were simply the preservation of order and the adminis-
tration of the law did not come within the purview of the act. Such, for
example, were militia and municipal officers, commissioners of public works,
directors of state institutions, of banks, and of other corporations. Conscripts
and slaves forced into the Confederate service were not to be taken as persons
who had engaged in the rebellion. Mere acts of charity, where the intent was
to relieve the wants of the Confederate soldier and not in aid of the cause
which he represented, did not disqualify, although organized contributions of
food and clothing for the general relief of persons engaged in the rebellion,
and not of a mere sanitary character, were acts which disqualified. Volun-
tary contributions to the Confederacy in the form of loans and the purchase
of its bonds or securities likewise worked disqualification. Opinion of June
12, 1867. The act of July 19 defined "executive and judicial officers" as
being all civil officers created by law for the administration of any general
law of the state or for the administration of justice.
2 Cor. Rel. to Becon. p. 141. 8 Ibid. p. 144.
REGISTRATION OF THE NEW ELECTORATE 175
whites were charged with deterring the negroes from regis-
tering. The report was spread abroad that the purpose
of registration was to enable the government to impose a
tax upon the negroes, and to require military service of
them. By an order of June 29, bureau agents were directed
to visit every important plantation within their reach, and
instruct the freedmen upon the subject of registering and
voting, and to correct any mistaken ideas that they might
have, and report to headquarters the names of all persons
interfering with the work of registration. Only one indi-
vidual seems to have been punished on this account.
Early in September the work was completed, with the
following result : 1 —
White voters 46,636
Colored « . .^ ... . . 60,167
Total ... . 106,803
Of the sixty-one counties, thirty-three had negro majorities.
The announcement of the result greatly surprised the whites.
The negro majority was far in excess of the estimates made
by the newspapers, and showed that the negroes were not
becoming extinct as rapidly as the census of 1866 seemed to
indicate. The result showed, moreover, the thoroughness
with which General Ord had executed the reconstruction
acts and settled the question as to whether the negro was
interested in politics. It revealed, too, as nothing else had
done, the real political situation in which civil war and
reconstruction was fast placing the whites. It was now
plain that the management of their political affairs, which
they had come to look upon as theirs of right, must soon
pass to their late slaves, together with white strangers from
other states. Many declared that the state was no longer a
fit habitation for white men, and some prepared to emigrate
to other countries. Those who went in advance, however,
made such discouraging reports that it was decided that
negro suffrage was preferable to a life of exile.2
As the holidays approached, rumors of a negro insurrec-
tion disturbed the peace and quiet of the state. Again the
1 These figures do not include the registration in Bolivar, Covington, and
Tunica. The population of Bolivar and Tunica was overwhelmingly black.
The counties with the largest colored majorities were Adams, Carroll, Clai-
borne, Hinds, Issaquena, Jefferson, Lowndes, Noxubee, Warren, Washington,
and Yazoo.
2 De Bow's Review, 1867, p. 537.
176 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
negroes had conceived the notion that Christmas would bring
a distribution of the lands among them. Accordingly, they
refused to make contracts for the ensuing year, or to leave
the plantations where they lived. The indications of an
armed outbreak became so numerous that the civil governor,
Mr. Humphreys, on December 9, issued a proclamation recit-
ing that communications had been received from different
portions of the state expressing serious apprehensions that
" combinations and conspiracies " were being formed among
the blacks to seize the lands unless Congress should arrange
a plan of distribution by January 1. It appears that com-
plaints had been made to General Ord, which complaints
were referred to Governor Humphreys for his cooperation
with the military authorities. The proclamation of Decem-
ber 9 warned the blacks that if they entertained any such
hopes, they had been grossly deceived. The governor told
them plainly that the first outbreak against the peace and
quiet of the state would signalize the destruction of their
cherished hopes and the ruin of their race. The day before
General Ord turned over the command of the fourth district,
he instructed General Gillem, commander of the sub-district
of Mississippi, to ascertain what white men were advising the
freedmen to take up arms and seize the lands, and to inform
the leading freedmen that there was no intention upon the
part of Congress to take the lands of planters for the benefit
of their former slaves, that the government already had
plenty of land in Mississippi for freedmen, and they could
settle upon it whenever they chose to do so. General Gillem
accordingly issued a proclamation informing them that they
would be required to earn their support during the com-
ing year, and those who were able to work, and would not,
would render themselves liable to arrest and punishment as
vagrants. The cooperation of all civil officers was invoked
to secure the enforcement of the order.
V. PARTY POLITICS IN 1867
The registration being complete, General Ord made ready
for an election to determine whether the electorate, as now
constituted, was in favor of a constitutional convention for
the purpose of reestablishing civil government and restoring
the state to the Union, or whether they preferred to remain
under military rule and without representation in Congress.
An election to settle this question was ordered to be held on
PARTY POLITICS IN 1867 177
the first Tuesday in November. Delegates to the convention
were to be chosen at the same time. On September 26, the
commanding general issued an order regulating in detail
the manner in which the election was to be conducted. The
election at each precinct was to be held by a registrar, a
judge, and a clerk, who were to receive $6 per day for their
services.1 Only those who could subscribe to the iron-clad
oath were qualified to serve as election officials. Each bal-
lot was to have written on it the words " for a convention,"
or " against a convention," and also the names of the dele-
gates voted for. No returning officer was allowed to be
a candidate at this election. The commanding general an-
nounced that he would exercise to the fullest extent the
powers vested in him to punish all cases of fraud and vio-
lence. If it appeared that a majority of the votes cast were
in favor of a constitution, the names of the delegates would
be officially announced, and orders issued for the assembling
of the convention. The excitement incident to the approach
of the first election in the state in which colored voters par-
ticipated, led the commanding general to adopt stringent
measures to preserve the peace and secure a fair election.
Sub-district commanders were directed to cause all bar-rooms
and saloons to be strictly closed on occasions of political
meetings. All persons making inflammatory speeches to
freedmen, or endeavoring to endanger the public peace by
exciting one class against another, were to be reported to
headquarters. In pursuance of this order, a man was tried
before a military commission at Vicksburg for an alleged
attempt to deter registrars from their duties, and inducing
freedmen not to register by telling them it was the design
of the government to enroll them for service in a foreign
war. He was convicted and sent to the Dry Tortugas for
imprisonment. The assembling of armed bodies of citizens
under any pretence whatever was forbidden.
1 General Ord's action in appointing freedmen as judges and clerks of the
election was the subject of great protest by the Vicksburg Herald. That
journal said : " We hoped this shameful humiliation would be spared our
people, at least until the freemen of Mississippi decide whether they will sub-
mit to negro equality at the ballot box or elsewhere. General Ord has here-
tofore exhibited a wisdom in his administration which has been highly
approved by the people, but we doubt not the lovers of peace throughout the
country will condemn the order as injudicious, if not insulting, to that race
whom God has created superior to the black man, and whom no monarch can
make his equal. The general commanding cannot surely have forgotten that
the negro has no political rights conferred on him by the state of Mississippi,
although he is given the privilege by a corrupt and fragmentary congress to
cast a ballot in the coming farce dignified by the name of election."
178 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
As these reconstruction movements proceeded, a difference
of opinion arose among the whites as to the proper course
for them to pursue in the premises. On the 15th of Octo-
ber, a state convention of " constitutional Union men " was
held at Jackson, and it adopted resolutions urging all per-
sons in sympathy with them to abstain from participation
in the election of delegates to the reconstruction convention.
In an address of December 12, they declared that the policy
of Congress had reduced the people to utter ruin, and had
contrived for them the perpetuity of negro rule, which
meant that the Southern states were foredoomed to become
African provinces, in which they and their children were to
be held in negro subjection. The supporters of this party
purposed to take no part or lot in the proceedings by which
such a condition of things was to be inaugurated.1 They
took the view that inasmuch as the government was being
reestablished on principles abhorrent to their traditional
ideas of popular government, and by those who had shown
so little consideration for their welfare, their interests could
be best subserved by abstaining from all participation in
the work of reconstruction, and by permitting the state to
remain under military rule. As the call for the reconstruc-
tion convention required the approval of a majority of the
registered voters, they could easily defeat it by refusing to
vote. Although the call for a convention of those who held
to these views had been published in every county, and the
people urged to send delegates, only six or eight counties
responded. The Clarion said this proved beyond doubt that
the people were in favor of reconstruction.
The other party, which consisted of a respectable minority
of the leading politicians and editors, took the position that
it was the duty of the whites to register, vote for a conven-
tion, and in every possible way assist in the reconstruction
of the state. They saw clearly that there was no escape
from negro domination, and that a policy of sullen inactivity
would only increase the prejudice of the radicals in Congress,
to whose power they were undoubtedly subjected.2 An
acceptance of the reconstruction policy as cheerfully as their
1 Their address is published in the New York World of Jan. 4, 1868.
2 The Jackson Clarion of June 21, 1867, said : " The belief that negro suf-
frage can be averted by voting down a convention is a miserable, bald, and
stupid delusion, and will soon run its course." The Kosciusko Chronicle de-
clared that if the question of a convention was defeated, another reconstruc-
tion act would be passed disfranchising nineteen-twentieths of the whites,
and the state would be reorganized by the negroes, and those few whites
who could take the oath.
PARTY POLITICS IN 1867 179
pride would permit could not make their situation any the
worse, and it would perhaps be the means of securing con-
cessions from the radicals in Congress. Their support was,
of course, not to be an outspoken advocacy of the reconstruc-
tion measures, but a hearty acquiescence. Some of the lead-
ing politicians of the state who supported this view were
ex-Senator Brown, Mr. Barksdale, editor of the Jackson
Clarion, and Judges Watson, Campbell, and Yerger.1 Brown
acknowledged the right of Congress to dictate terms to them,
and he was willing to "make the best of it."2 As for negro
suffrage, he would not oppose it as an original proposition if
it was done at the right time, by the right men, in the right
way.3 He was ready to " meet Congress on its own plat-
form and shake hands."4 Judge Campbell said he was in
favor of accepting the reconstruction acts of Congress, for
he felt that the people were in the power of the Federal gov-
ernment. " I agreed," he said, " with Mr. Barksdale, who
favored a prompt acquiescence on the part of our people, and
to make the most of the situation and form an alliance with
the negroes politically by a full recognition of their rights
to vote and hold office, acquire ascendency over them, and
become their teachers and controllers instead of allowing the
Republicans to do so." He thought the policy of the Demo-
cratic party drove the negroes to band together under the
lead of the Republicans.5 Ex-Governor McRae, Fulton
Anderson, and others, advised every man who could to take
the oath and vote for delegates to the convention. The fore-
most advocate of this policy was the Jackson Clarion, a Demo-
cratic paper. As early as the 16th of May, it advised the
whites to register, vote, and otherwise aid in the work of
reconstruction. The same issue of the Clarion published
a list of twenty-two papers that had come out in favor
of reconstruction. The editor affirmed that the policy of
inactivity had no advocates in the state, and that " multi-
tudes," who were at first inclined to take no part in recon-
struction, had come over to its support. A state central
reconstruction club was formed at Jackson, and counted
among its members the two most eminent members of the
Mississippi bar, Wiley P. Harris and William Yerger. Upon
1 See editorials in the Jackson Clarion of Aug. 1 and 2, 1867, in which the
duty of the whites is stated.
2 Letter in Jackson Clarion, Jan. 6, 1869.
8 Letter in New York Herald, April 3, 1867.
* New York Tribune, Feb. 11, 1869.
6 Testimony in Boutwell Report, p. 937.
180 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
their advice, local affiliated clubs were formed in many
communities.
The most advanced reconstructionist among the promi-
nent whites was General Alcorn. Inasmuch as there was no
hope of escape from the power of the radicals, he proposed
to form an alliance with them in order to secure terms. He
proposed to " vote with the negro, discuss politics with him,
sit, if need be, in council with him, and form a platform accept-
able to both, and pluck our common liberty and prosperity
from the jaws of inevitable ruin." With a platform guaran-
teeing to the negro all his rights as a citizen, generous pro-
vision for the education of his children, and the possession of
a homestead, Alcorn believed that the white people would be
able to hold their old positions as advisers of the negro race.
With such an alliance, they would be in a position to " open
negotiations " with the dominant political party of the North,
with a view to securing the abolition of the cotton tax, the
reconstruction of the levees, and the restoration of political
rights. Northern hatred of the Democratic party, he said,
made it useless to continue to affiliate with that party.1
In the meantime, a new political party was being organized
in the state. On the 10th of September, it held a conven-
tion at Jackson. This was the first Republican convention
ever held in the state. About one-third of the delegates
were freedmen, the others were election registrars, bureau
agents, and Northern men who had recently taken up their
abode in the state. They adopted a platform endorsing all
the principles of the national party, and declared that the
Mississippi Republicans would " keep step with it in all the
progressive political reforms of the age." They endorsed
the congressional plan of reconstruction, and promised to
use their best efforts in extending the benefits of free educa-
tion to every child in the state, and to give the ballot to
every man not disfranchised for crime, including treason.
They declared that they would never recognize any distinc-
tion based on race or color.
" Two things are clear," said a newspaper correspondent
who reported the proceedings, " first, the negro vote is in the
majority ; second, it will be controlled by a few white men."2
The Clarion found something in the action of the conven-
tion to be hopeful for. It said : " Whatever may be thought
of their platform, it is clear that if they get control of the
1 See his address to the people, in the New York Times of Sept. 2, 1867.
2 New York Herald, Sept. 25, 1867.
PARTY POLITICS IN 1867 181
convention, it commits them against imposing disabilities
and proscriptions beyond the requirements of the recon-
struction acts. They have heartily adopted the congres-
sional plan, and cannot go beyond it." The judgment of the
Clarion proved to be unsound.1
The election to settle the question of a convention was
held in the latter part of November, and the reconstruction-
ists won by a large majority. The following was the result :
Registered voters 139,327
Votes cast 76,016
For a convention 69,739
Against a convention 6,277
The votes in favor of a convention were not only a major-
ity of those cast, but a majority of the registered votes. The
great mass of the whites took no part in the election, but
allowed it to go by default. In pursuing this course, they
made a great mistake. As a result of their refusal to par-
ticipate in the election, the radicals secured a large majority
of the delegates in the convention.2 On December 10, the
commanding general issued an order from Holly Springs,
declaring that inasmuch as a majority of the votes cast were
for a convention, it would assemble as already directed in a
general order of December 8.
On the 28th of December, General Ord was directed to
turn over his command to General Alvan C. Gillem and pro-
ceed to San Francisco and assume command of the Depart-
ment of California. His incumbency as military commander
of Mississippi covered a period of about nine months. From
the standpoint of the reconstructionist, his administration
was a thorough success, being vigorous in character, and in
1 Among the delegates to this convention, and who were therefore among
the founders of the Republican party in Mississippi, were George C. McKee,
Jonathan Tarbell, R. W. Flourney, J. S. Morris, J. L. Wofford, L. W. Perce,
H. R. Pease, and the Rev. James Lynch, colored. During the organization
of the convention, Pease moved that the word " colored " be added to the
name of each negro delegate, whereupon Lynch moved to amend so that the
color of each delegate's hair be added, also. Both motions were' laid on
the table.
2 Relative to this election, a Vicksburg paper said : "We urge every decent
white man, every honorable gentleman of the Caucasian race to avoid Gen-
eral Ord's election as he would pestilence and prison." After the election, it
said : " We are gratified to be able to announce that at the courthouse
yesterday, the only place open to the whole people, there were cast the votes
of eight persons only. We tried to get the names of the interesting sneaks
who voted, but failed, though we are ready to pay a dollar for the name of
each."
182 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
accordance with strict military methods. It was distinctly a
military administration of military law, and therefore the
sphere of civil liberty was reduced to a minimum. There
were loud protests against the severity of his rule, and upon
his own request, it is said, the President removed him and
appointed as his successor a commander whose Southern
sympathies led him to mitigate to a great extent the rigor of
military rule which had been established.1
VI. MILITARY GOVERNMENT UNDER GENERAL
GILLEM
General Gillem assumed command of the fourth district
January 9, 1868. He had already been in command of the
sub-district of Mississippi since the inauguration of the
congressional policy, and was therefore, like his predecessor,
not an entire stranger in the state. General Gillem was a
native of Tennessee, a personal friend of President John-
son, had distinguished himself for gallantry in the Union
army, and had taken a leading part in the reorganization of
Tennessee.
At the time he assumed command of the fourth military
District, the Twenty-fourth and Thirty-fourth regiments of
infantry, together with two companies of cavalry, constituted
the military force in the state. The troops were posted at
Vicksburg, Meridian, Jackson, Natchez, Grenada, Columbus,
Holly Springs, Corinth, Durant, Brookhaven, and Lauder-
dale. On account of the excitement incident to the election
and the apprehension of collisions between the white and
black races, four companies of infantry were brought from
the Department of the Cumberland in June.2
There was a marked improvement in the economic condi-
tion of the state during Gillem's administration. The cotton
crop had been almost a total failure in 1867, employers being
unable to meet their obligations either to laborers or mer-
chants from whom they obtained their supplies. There was
much suffering among the poorer whites and the negroes.
Both races appealed to General Gillem, who was then a sub-
1 General Ord died of yellow fever at Havana in 1883. The order of the
War Department announcing his death, concluded as follows : "As his inti-
mate associate since boyhood, the general commanding [Sherman] here
bears testimony of him that a more unselfish, manly, and patriotic person
never lived." Powell's Officers and Soldiers, p. 27.
2 Report Secretary of War, 1868-1869, p. 523.
MILITARY GOVERNMENT UNDER GENERAL GILLEM 183
district commander, for assistance. General Gillem believed
that the relief asked for would be an actual injury, and so
he declined to advance provisions to either. He urged
the farmers to plant extensively, and the freedmen to enter
into contracts for the following year, assuring both races
that each would be held to a strict compliance with their
agreements. Finding that they would receive no aid from
the government, all went to work, and an abundant crop
was made, the first since 1860. The system of labor so de-
ranged at the close of the war, had, in a measure, adjusted
itself to the changed conditions. The whites had become
convinced that free negro labor could be made profitable ;
the negroes, on the other hand, had come to believe that
there was no desire on the part of the whites to reenslave
them or cheat them out of their earnings. General Gillem
reported that there were few complaints during his adminis-
tration from either laborers or employers.
There was also an improvement in the political condition
of the state, and a relaxation of the rigors of military rule.
Gillem's first official act was to restore to the civil courts
jurisdiction in cases of horse stealing, and, in fact, of all
cases whatsoever, except in a few instances, where, from
excitement or prejudice on account of race, politics, or
" local animosities " it was believed that justice could not be
secured. In such cases the military tribunals were to con-
tinue to have jurisdiction. Certain of his predecessor's
orders giving to the military tribunals jurisdiction of cases
involving disputes over the division of crops among employ-
ers and employees, and of cases between debtors and creditors
were revoked, except where the Freedmen's Bureau had juris-
diction by act of Congress. These cases were now to be cog-
nizable by the civil courts. He also used his pardoning power
rather freely to relieve from imprisonment many persons con-
victed of crime by General Ord's military commissions. The
cases of all persons who were in confinement awaiting trial on
the charge of horse stealing were directed to be investigated
at once by post commanders, and reports made of those cases
which, in their judgment, would receive impartial justice at
the hands of the civil authorities. Such cases were to be
turned over to the civil courts "with the least possible
delay." General Ord's order requiring licenses to sell coun-
try produce after sunset was revoked, and so were his orders
imprisoning several Vicksburg editors for libel against one
another. A number of General Ord's appointments were
also revoked.
184
RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
As will appear from the following exhibit, comparatively
few cases were tried by military commissions during Gillem's
administration, and there were still fewer convictions: —
OFFENCE.
WHEBE COMMITTED.
PUNISHMENT.
1. Illegal collection of fines
and obtaining money
under false pretences
(bureau agent) . . .
2. Murder
3. Murder of a freedman .
4. Larceny of a horse . .
5. Murder
6. Robbery and assault
with intent to kill
(soldiers) ....
7. Bribery and illegal
charges for service
(bureau agent) . . .
8. Theft (U. S. soldier) .
9. Larceny of a mule . .
10. Assault on a freedman
11. Assault with intent to
kill
12. Murder of a private
soldier
13. Assault with intent to
kill (colored offender)
14. Larceny of two mules .
15. Larceny of 400 Ibs. meat
16. Larceny of two swine .
17. Riot .
De Soto County
Warren "
Hinds "
Lowndes "
Panola "
Grenada "
Panola "
Grenada "
Tishorningo "
Graysport
Jeff ers'n County
Lincoln "
Grenada "
Tishomingo "
Choctaw "
Choctaw "
Choctaw "
« Guilty, but acquitted."
Five years' imprisonment.
Acquitted.
Acquitted.
Acquitted.
Ten years' imprisonment.
Dishonorable discharge
from army.
Ten months' imprison-
ment and fine of $50.
Two years' imprisonment.
Five years' imprisonment.
Acquitted.
Three years' imprison-
ment.
Acquitted.
Acquitted.
Five years' imprisonment.
Acquitted.
Acquitted.
Acquitted.
There were also comparatively few cases of interference
with the civil authorities during General Gillem's adminis-
tration. In one case, he ordered a change of venue, in an-
other case, he suspended for investigation a chancellor's
decree, in another, he declared a private sale of property void,
and in another, he detailed an army officer to investigate the
question of the removal of a County courthouse. By another
order he directed that a special tax on guns and pistols in
Washington County be reduced so as to conform to the tax
levied in other counties, and in another case, he suspended
the collection of the levee tax. With a view to diminishing
crime, he forbade the carrying of concealed weapons, under
heavy penalties, and to settle disputes between employer
MILITARY GOVERNMENT UNDER GENERAL GILLEM 185
and employees, he made provision for boards of arbitration.
In the absence of legislative sessions, it devolved upon him
to make regular appropriations for support of the state
institutions.1 So far as reconstructing the official person-
nel of the civil government was concerned, it may be said
that General Gillem removed a few more officers than his
predecessor, due chiefly to the pressure which Congress
brought to bear upon the district commanders. The mayor
of Jackson was removed for failure to enforce law and
maintain order, and an army officer was appointed to act
in his stead. The circuit and probate clerks of Madison
County were removed for using their positions for " political
purposes." Sheriffs, probate judges, district attorneys, and
justices of the peace were removed in several instances.
On account of these removals, and on account of a good
many resignations, the power of appointment was exercised
considerably more than by his predecessor. The total num-
ber of civil appointments made by General Gillem aggre-
gated about two hundred and thirty.2
There were during Gillem's incumbency few complaints
from freedmeri or white men, such as had occupied the time
of the courts, agencies of the Freedmen's Bureau, and the
"arbitrary boards" established by General Ord. Gillem
says there was not a single complaint from the sub-district
of Vicksburg, containing a large population of whites and
blacks. His theory was to interfere as little as possible with
the civil authorities, and to restrict the sphere of the mili-
tary power to its legitimate function, that of preserving the
peace. He reported at the end of the first year of his
administration that the courts of record almost without
exception had performed their duties impartially, although
some of the minor courts were not so fair. The civil author-
ities, he said, did what lay in their power to maintain order
and enforce the law.3
1 At different times he appropriated sums aggregating $32,560 for the
Lunatic Asylum, $13,551 for the University, and $500 for the Penitentiary.
2 The following is a list of General Gillem's appointments : —
Three judges of the High Court of Errors and Appeals, 2 circuit judges,
7 probate judges, 2 district attorneys, 21 sheriffs, 15 mayors, 14 assessors,
12 circuit clerks, 3 probate clerks, 3 county treasurers, 4 magistrates, 66
aldermen, 28 justices of the peace, 20 constables, 5 marshals, 3 recorders,
3 coroners, 24 members Board of Police, 6 school trustees.
8 Report Secretary of War, 1868-1869, p. 506. It was his opinion that the
great defect in administering justice lay, not in the courts, but in the imprac-
ticability of detecting crime and arresting criminals. The majority of the
crimes were committed at night by persons in disguise whom their victims
were unable to recognize.
186 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
The extent of General Gillem's authority under the recon-
struction acts subsequently came before the state Supreme
Court. It arose over an act of his in setting aside the
decision of a board of arbitration made adversely to the
claim of a negro, satisfactory evidence having been sub-
mitted to the general that undue advantage had been taken
of the negro's ignorance. Objections were taken to the
authority of the district commander, but his action was
sustained by the Circuit Court held by Judge Tarbell, a
Northern man. The Supreme Court reversed the decision
of the lower court. The two justices who concurred in the
decision held that while very large discretion had been
vested in the district commander so far as political ques-
tions were concerned, and in the maintenance of peace and
order, absolute power over person and property had not
been conferred upon him. They denied that the military
commander could set aside and vacate the judgment of a
court in a civil case. From this decision Justice Tarbell,
who had in the meantime been appointed to the Supreme
bench, dissented^ and affirmed that the military commander
was the source of all power, authority, and law ; and that he
could annul the constitution or code, either wholly or in
part, or he could make law by his military fiat as he pleased,
and that in the exercise of the power vested in him, he could
displace the judge, and hear and determine the case himself.
" By no refinement of reasoning, therefore," he continued,
" can we escape the fact that there existed in the state in 1838
a pure undisguised military government, and the military
force was not kept there simply as a police force, a sort of
comitatus to preserve the peace, but it was sent there to
govern as well. " l Tarbell's view was certainly justified by the
actual practice of the commanders, if not by the spirit of the
reconstruction acts ; whether it was justified by the Consti-
tution of the United States is not quite so clear.
VII. THE RECONSTRUCTION CONVENTION OF 1868
The important political event of General Gillem's admin-
istration was the session of the reconstruction convention,
locally known as the " Black and Tan " convention. It
assembled at Jackson January 9, just two days before Gen-
eral Gillem assumed command of the district. Viewed from
1 Welborne vs. Mayrant, 48 Miss. 653.
THE RECONSTRUCTION CONVENTION OF 1868 187
the standpoint of both its personnel and its policy, it deserves
to be ranked as the most remarkable political assemblage
ever convened in Mississippi. General Ord, who had brought
it into existence, fixed the number of delegates at one hun-
dred, and apportioned them in such a way, it was charged, as
to give the reconstructionists a large majority. Thus thirty-
two of the sixty-one counties of the state had negro majori-
ties, and were given seventy delegates, while the twenty-nine
white counties were given but thirty.1 This was the first
political body in Mississippi in which the negro race was
represented, there being seventeen colored delegates returned.
With the exception of the colored ministers,2 they were with-
out education, and none of them had ever before held pub-
lic office. There were but nineteen conservatives in the
convention. The so-called "carpet bag" element had twenty
odd representatives, nearly all of whom had been soldiers
in the Union army. There were twenty-nine native white
Republicans, derisively called " Scalawags." Four of the
Northern born Republicans had lived in the South before the
war, and two of them had served in the Confederate army.
Among the more prominent ex-Union soldiers in the conven-
tion were General Beroth B. Eggleston, a native of New
York, but who had enlisted as a private in an Ohio regi-
ment ; Colonel A. T. Morgan, of the Second Wisconsin Volun-
teers ; General W. S. Barry, formerly commander of a negro
regiment raised in Kentucky; General George C. McKee, for-
merly a practising attorney at Centralia, Illinois, and a grad-
uate of Knox College ; Major W. H. Gibbs, of the Fifteenth
Illinois infantry ; Judge W. B. Cunningham, of Pennsyl-
vania ; and Captain E. J. Castello, of the Seventh Missouri
infantry. These were among the founders of the Republican
party in Mississippi, and were more or less prominent in the
politics of the state down to 1876. 3
1 The following inequalities were computed from a table giving the popu-
lation of each county (see Appleton's Ann. Cyclop., 1868, p. 517). There
were 106,000 registered voters (before the revision). Apportioning 100 dele-
gates among these would give a ratio of 1 delegate to 1100 voters ; yet
Tippah County with 901 votes had two delegates; Panola with 1233 had
two; Holmes with 877 had two and one floater with Madison; Washington
with 2231 had three, and Tishomingo with 3273 (nearly all white) had only
two.
2 One authority says the number of colored preachers was eight, the most
prominent being J. Aaron Moore of Meridian, now a blacksmith at Jackson,
Mississippi, C. W. Fitzhugh, and T. W. Stringer, the latter a Northern man
who went South with the Freedmen's Bureau. He sat for Warren County.
3 The subsequent careers of some of the members of the " Black and Tan"
convention are full of interest. Five met violent deaths. Caldwell, after-
188 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
The convention was called to order January 7, by Mr.
Mygatt, a Northern man who had lived in the state before
the war, and who had supported the cause of the Confederacy
in a feeble way until the surrender of Vicksburg*, shortly
after which he renewed his allegiance to the United States.
Upon taking the chair, he delivered a harangue in which he
reminded the delegates that the long-looked-for hour had at
last come, — " the hour," said he, " for which our registrars
have so long toiled, the hour that all loyal men have labored
to hasten, but which a disloyal press has striven to prevent."
" This hour," he said, " brings to a close a period of Missis-
sippi history."1 Eighty-three members answered to their
names, one of whom (Orr of Harrison) failed to produce
official evidence of his appointment. The committee on cre-
dentials reported that in the matter of contested seats it
belonged to the commanding general to determine who were
elected, a*hd who, therefore, were entitled to seats.
General Eggleston was elected president of the convention,
and Thad P. Sears, late of the Federal army, was chosen
secretary. There was also a large corps of employees and
hangers-on, for some of whom it must have been difficult to
find any duties.2
The first task of the convention was to fix the compensa-
tion of the delegates and employees, and provide for raising
the necessary means, for it will be remembered that the
wards senator (colored) from Hinds, was, with his brother, assassinated on
the streets of Clinton in December, 1875. He had been charged with partici-
pation in the Clinton "Massacre"; Combast was hung by the Kuklux in
Sunflower County ; Orr was shot at Pass Christian ; Fawn was shot in the
courthouse at Yazoo City; Fred Parsons, defender of Governor Ames in
his impeachment trial, was found dead in a water-hole, having been murdered
by unknown persons. The Northern members, almost without exception,
left the state after the "revolution" of 1875.
1 Convention Journal, p. 3.
2 The following is a partial list of the thirty employees of the conven-
tion, and the per diem of each, where the amount is ascertainable from the
journal : —
One reporter at $15 per day ; 1 secretary at $15 per day ; 2 assistant
secretaries at $10 each per day ; 1 sergeant at arms, $10 ; 2 assistant ser-
geants at arms, $5 each ; 1 printer ; 1 warrant clerk ; 2 enrolling clerks ;
1 reading clerk ; 1 minute clerk ; 1 auditor ; 1 treasurer ; 1 auditing clerk ;
1 chaplain at $10 per day ; 1 postmaster at $8 per day ; 1 hall porter at $4 per
day ; 4 pages at $2.50 each ; 2 doorkeepers at $5 ; 1 woodchopper at $2.50.
There was also a number of committee clerks with salaries ranging from
$5 to $15 per day. The employment of a regular chaplain was exclusively
a reconstruction innovation. Every one of the employees was either a North-
ern white man or a negro, " men of known loyalty," as they were called.
A resolution offered by a native white Republican that some of the clerkships
be given to loyal Southern men was voted down. — Journal, p. 30.
THE RECONSTRUCTION CONVENTION OF 1868 189
expenses of the convention were to be defrayed by the state,
and not by the United States. On the first day of the con-
vention, one member had the temerity to propose that " in
order to expedite business and quicken consciences " each
delegate be required to pay his own expenses. His motion
was of course laid on the table, and a committee was appointed
to arrange a schedule of salaries. The committee reported
an ordinance fixing the compensation of members at $20 per
day. This, however, was thought to be too large, and it was
accordingly reduced to $10 per day and forty cents per mile
while travelling to and from the capital.1 Perhaps less than
a dozen of the delegates who voted for the compensation
ordinance were owners of real estate in Mississippi. This
was said to be the " long-looked-f or hour" to which the
chairman of the committee on compensation had alluded in
his address already mentioned, the hour for which " loyal "
men had so long toiled, and a " disloyal " press striven to
prevent. Never had a legislative body or a state convention
in Mississippi placed so high an estimate upon the value of
its services. And what seems almost incomprehensible,
there was a feeling that they had a legitimate right to
exploit the taxpayers to any extent they pleased. To pro-
test against such a schedule of salaries was treason and
disloyalty.2 Upon the passage of the compensation ordi-
nance, an indignant Democrat offered a resolution declar-
ing that inasmuch as a large and influential class had been
disfranchised, and a large class who had never been citizens
were enfranchised, a majority of the delegates on the floor
were not entitled to their seats, and therefore the assembly
was illegal and not entitled to compensation. This resolu-
tion was voted down with a whoop and amid cries of expul-
sion. He did not despair, however, and after regaining his
composure, offered another resolution, to the effect that after
the expiration of twenty days, no delegate should receive
over $5 per day for his services. His language was de-
nounced as insulting to the convention, and a resolution
was introduced asking him to withdraw and pay his own
expenses. The resolution further directed that he be cen-
1 Some of the delegates drew as much as $240 on account of mileage.
The average seems to have been about $160.
2 It should be said, however, that on account of the depreciated state of
the currency, the compensation was not as great as it appears. Members
were paid in state warrants worth sixty-five or seventy emits on the dollar.
It should also be said that the scale of compensation for members was but
little higher than that fixed by the Democratic legislature in 1865.
190 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
sured and granted a leave of absence for fourteen days.1 A
committee was then appointed to ascertain if any member
was opposed to reconstruction, or had declared the conven-
tion unconstitutional, or did not regard its acts as valid.
The convention was extravagant in other particulars.
The Secretary of State was requested to furnish delegates
with stationery. He replied that he had none on hand, and
no means with which to procure any. A committee of three
was appointed to provide stationery for the convention.2
They sent an agent to New Orleans to purchase a supply.
The amount of his bill was $1458. 80.3 This supply was
soon exhausted, and additional quantities were purchased
of a local firm.4 The delegates also seem to have had a
lively appreciation of the value of keeping posted on current
events. They made ample provision for supplying them-
selves with daily newspapers, those of the reconstruction
type, of course, being given the preference.5 A no incon-
siderable sum was spent in sending telegrams to Washington,
and in sending committees to various places, especially to
Vicksburg to consult with General Gillem. Having got a
taste of office, the members of the convention now made an
effort to oust every official in the state from his position.
About the third day after the organization of the convention,
General Barry moved the appointment of a committee of seven
to memorialize " our noble Congress" to confer on the conven-
1 Convention Journal, p. 35.
2 Ibid. p. 16.
8 Ibid. p. 36. The largest items were, 105 reams paper, $897.80 ; 2400
writing pens, $39 ; 900 penholders, $18 ; 150 inkstands, $42 ; 650 lead
pencils, $80 ; 26,000 envelopes, $195. There were, in addition, large quan-
tities of ink, blotting paper, erasers, mucilage, fasteners, etc.
4 The total sum paid the local firm for stationery, as far as can be ascer-
tained from the journals, was $468.47.
5 Each delegate was allowed five copies of any daily paper that he might
select. One member favored making the number twenty ; another thought
fifty was not too large. So far as can be determined from the journal, the
following amounts were appropriated for newspapers : for the
Jackson Pilot $ 44.
Times 85.
Vicksburg Journal 1783.
Memphis Bulletin 8.
Clarion 1123.53
Vicksburg Herald and New Orleans Republican . 139.60
Vicksburg Republican . 120.
Memphis Post 68.
Avalanche 3.
Vicksburg Chronicle 296.
Total , . $3670.13
THE RECONSTRUCTION CONVENTION OF 1868 191
tion power to declare all civil offices vacant, and vest the ap-
pointment of the new incumbents in the convention, in order
that all the said offices might be filled by men of " known loy-
alty " to the United States government.1 The Clarion said this
was the "coolest piece of audacity " that had come to its notice,
and that if the scheme was consummated, it would do more
than anything else to concentrate the opposition of the people
against the entire work of the convention, and surely lead to
its rejection. Fifteen conservatives protested against send-
ing the memorial to Washington, and affirmed that the gov-
ernment of the state was not in the hands of rebels ; that
the civil officers had not neglected to protect life, liberty, and
property of loyal men ; that there were not enough competent
men in the state who could take the iron-clad oath; and that the
convention was assembled to make a constitution, and had,
therefore, no jurisdiction in the premises. The convention
refused to allow the protest to go upon the records, and
decided by a vote of fifty to nineteen that " it be wrapped in
brown paper and returned to the gentleman from Marshall."
The orthodox test of loyalty, in General Barry's opinion, was
straight-out radicalism. That the state should be handed
over to his party, was a matter of supreme importance, and
he insisted that the consideration of his motion be made the
special order of the following day. It was lost by only a
small majority.2 It became so manifest that one of the pur-
poses of the convention was to secure the offices, that Judge
Watson made an attempt to checkmate the radicals by an
ordinance declaring delegates ineligible to any office of trust
or profit under the state, should it be reorganized in accord-
ance with Barry's measure. His resolution was voted down
by a large majority.3
The convention had been in session several weeks before
it seems to have dawned upon the delegates that the estab-
lishment of a constitution was the purpose for which they
1 The memorial declared that " the loyal people of this state require your
immediate aid to remove obstructions impeding the actions of their repre-
sentatives ; that the loyal men of the state have accepted in good faith the
reconstruction laws, and are laboring to institute a civil government -that shall
recognize and protect the liberties of the citizens ; that the state is under a
civil government organized in 1865 by not more than one-third of the white
men who were authorized to vote by the President's proclamation, rebels in
name, in heart, in head, in policy, indeed in all respects save open hostility.
All this has been borne by the faithful Union loyalists with a calm defiance
and unaltering devotion to country, to liberty, and to the Union ; and now
this rebel sentiment has culminated on the floor of this convention by a mem-
ber in a report averring that this body is an unauthorized assembly."
2 Convention Journal, p. 14. 8 Ibid. p. 16.
192 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
were assembled. They remained in session but three hours
per day, apparently adopted no methods for expediting busi-
ness, in fact, exhibited no inclination to speedily conclude
their labors and secure the readmission of the state at as
early a date as possible. The greater part of the first week
was consumed in effecting an elaborate organization and
arranging the compensation schedule.
The next subject to engage their attention was the inven-
tion of some scheme for the support of the colored people in
their idleness. There were many freedmen who still clung
to the delusion that the government intended to make a
division of the lands among them. Their refusal to labor or
make contracts resulted in reducing large numbers of them
to poverty. One of the first acts of the convention was the
appointment of a committee of five to investigate and report
what legislation was needed to afford adequate relief and
protection to the state and citizens thereof.1 The committee
reported early in February that they had made a careful
examination and found that there existed nearly all over
the state an " alarming " amount of destitution among the
laboring classes and, to some extent, among other persons
" strangers to labor and economy." They were inclined to
fix the number at thirty thousand, although they believed
that to be a low estimate. They thought the number of
those in "straitened and needy circumstances" could be
safely set down at not less than forty thousand ; that only
eleven counties were free from distress and suffering, and in
nearly all the rest, there was more or less destitution, and in
some, it bordered on actual starvation. They recommended
that the poll tax collected in the several counties be placed
at the disposal of a commissioner selected by the convention,
and applied to the relief of destitute persons in their respec-
tive counties.2
The resolution was adopted, and a committee sent to Vicks-
burg to ask General Gillem to issue the requisite order.
But the commanding general, knowing that the report was
greatly exaggerated, and being further convinced that the
convention did not possess powers of general legislation such
as were involved in the appropriation of a poll tax and the
appointment of a committee to distribute it, refused to
1 Convention Journal, p. 18. The convention throughout its entire session
refused to be bound by the well-established principle of American public law
that a constituent assembly does not possess powers of ordinary legislation.
2 The report is printed in the Report of the Secretary of War for 1868,
p. 613.
THE RECONSTRUCTION CONVENTION OF 1868 193
comply with their request. At the same time, he assured
the committee that he had thoroughly investigated the sub-
ject of destitution throughout the state, and, as assistant com-
missioner of the Freedmen's Bureau, he had the means and
would employ them in relief of such destitute persons as
really required assistance ; that he had instructed the officers
and agents of the bureau to procure employment for all who
were able and willing to earn a support ; and that the aged,
decrepit, and orphans would be cared for in hospitals and
asylums. General Gillem was satisfied that the demand for
laborers exceeded the supply, and if destitution existed, it was
due to the unwillingness of the negroes to labor. He said
he was constantly receiving letters requesting aid in hiring
laborers. He declared that the very day on which the com-
mittee interviewed him, five hundred negro men with their
families could have procured labor at the office of the bureau
in Vicksburg, and that free transportation would have been
furnished every laborer to the point where he was wanted.
He accompanied his reply with official reports of bureau
officers to show that there was no legitimate reason for des-
titution, if it existed.1 In view of this, he said he deemed
it " inexpedient " to direct so large an amount of the revenue
of the state to the object specified, when there were no funds
in the state treasury, and when the state penitentiary, lunatic
asylum, and other institutions were being supported at the
expense of the United States.2
It was charged by the Democrats that the extraordinary
solicitude of the convention for the colored people was a
political move to secure their support at the next election, at
which nearly all the delegates expected to be candidates.3
1 See Convention Journal, p. 226, for report of Colonel J. W. Scully,
U. S. A., dated Vicksburg, February 18. The colonel declared that the
destitute condition of the freedmen was mainly due to their refusal to work
for wages. " They insist," said he, " that upon the adjournment of the con-
vention, the lands will be divided among them, and until then they can live
without work. " See also ibid. p. 227, for report of Lieutenant Merritt Barber,
dated Vicksburg, February 12. He says persons from Tennessee and points
in Mississippi had visited Grenada (headquarters of his sub-district) for the
purpose of procuring laborers, offering excellent terms, without being able to
secure a single one. The bureau agent at Panola reported that he had more
applications for laborers than he could fill. The Holly Springs agent reported
the same, and declared that the laborers of his district had received all their
wages for the last year, and that not an instance of destitution had come to
his notice.
2 General Gillem's letter declining to issue an order directing sheriffs to
reserve the poll tax is found in the Convention Journal, p. 223 ; also in the
Report of Secretary of War, 1868-1869, p. 614.
8 See speech of Senator James B. Beck, appendix to Globe, 41st Cong. p. 257.
194 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
Failing in this scheme, the convention turned its attention
to the invention of other " relief " measures. A committee
was early appointed to frame an ordinance for the "relief
of the people of Mississippi from their pecuniary embarrass-
ments." In the opinion of the convention, this could be
successfully accomplished by means of stay laws or abolition
of all debts. The commanding general was accordingly
requested to order tax collectors to suspend the collection of
all taxes which might have been assessed against freedmen
prior to January 1, 1868.1 Another provided for the aboli-
tion of all debts, contracts, and judgments that had been
incurred or made prior to April 28, 1865. 2 This measure
was actually adopted, and a committee appointed to confer
with General Gillem and request him to issue the order for
its enforcement. Again, the general refused to cooperate
with the convention. He respectfully referred them to
the homestead and bankrupt laws, and suggested that with
the allowances and exemptions provided by these, no family
was threatened with starvation, present or prospective, by
allowing the law to take its course.3
Again, a committee of five was appointed to proceed to
Vicksburg and urge the commanding general to issue an
order forbidding all officers and trustees from making fur-
ther sales of property, except for wages or mechanical labor,
until further orders from him. Again, the general informed
them that the law under which the convention was assem-
bled did not vest them with general powers of legislation,
and that, moreover, such action would be " detrimental " to
the interests of the people of the state. He declined to issue
the order.4
The commanding general was next requested to furnish
from the public funds the necessary means to enable all per-
sons known as " refugees " to return to their former homes,
from which, it was alleged, they had been dragged by the
slave trader and sold in Mississippi as slaves, and for lack of
1 Convention Journal, p. 70.
2 Report Secretary of War, pp. 608, 609. This was of course in violation
of the Constitution of the United States, Art. I. Sec. 10, par. 1. Mr. Rails-
back, a radical preacher from Bolivar County, offered a resolution for the
incorporation of an "article" in the constitution for suspending, for a pe-
riod of ninety-nine years, all legal proceedings for the collection of all debts,
of whatsoever kind, incurred before the passage of the ordinance of secession.
It was laid on the table.
8 Appleton's Ann. Cyclop, p. 506.
* Letter to Hon. George A. Stovall, H. Mis. Docs. 3d Ses. 40th Cong. p. 69 ;
also Report Secretary of War, 1868-1869, p. 609.
THE RECONSTRUCTION CONVENTION OF 1868 195
means had never been able to return.1 Others, they said,
had been induced by promises of liberal compensation for labor
to leave their families and friends, and were now " cast on
the cold charities of the world without money, and far from
friends who might be able to afford them temporary relief."
To General Gillem this appeared to be another scheme for
exploiting the treasury, and he respectfully declined to com-
ply with the request, alleging that there was no legal author-
ity for expending the public funds for such a purpose.2
Congress was now asked to set aside for distribution to the
colored people through the Freedmen's Bureau one-half of
the Federal cotton tax collected in the state.3
On March 7, the convention adopted a resolution request-
ing General Gillem to issue an order directing the restora-
tion of property alleged to have been unlawfully taken from
colored persons, on the ground that property accumulated by
them while in a state of slavery belonged to their masters.
It was also alleged that the courts did not protect them in
their lawful rights. Gillem at once informed the conven-
tion that he was charged by the reconstruction acts with
protecting all persons in their rights, and any instance
brought to his notice where persons, without regard to race
or color, were deprived of their property, should receive
his prompt attention. He declined to issue the desired
order.4
The convention in the meantime was instituting an in-
quisitorial investigation into the affairs of the civil governor,
Mr. Humphreys. In the first week of the convention, a
committee was appointed to investigate and report on
the charges made by Governor Humphreys, in his procla-
mation of December 9, relative to the apprehended negro
insurrection.6 The committee reported that it had spent
some time "hunting up information," and had found that
there was no just cause for issuing the proclamation, that
it was a libel on the people of Mississippi (the colored people,
1 This report is signed by Moore, Stringer, and Fitzhugh, all colored
ministers. Report Secretary of War, p. 611.
2 Convention Journal. The commanding general informed the conven-
tion that it had been his custom, as assistant commissioner of the Freedmen's
Bureau, to furnish children with transportation to parents or relatives desir-
ing to take charge of them, and also destitute persons who were likely to
become a charge on the government, to places where employment might be
obtained, or where they might be provided for by friends. Further than that,
it was imprudent to extend the practice. He declared that it would take
$1,000,000 to transport the negroes of Mississippi to their places of birth.
3 Journal, p. 70.
4 Report Secretary of War, p. 632. 6 Convention Journal, p. 30.
196 KECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
of course), and the governor was requested to furnish the
convention with "more specific information" in regard to
the reports which constituted the basis for his action. In
a sarcastic reply, the governor said that he presumed the
convention did not admit that it had any constitutional
right to require him to account for his administration of
civil government in Mississippi. He acknowledged, how-
ever, the right of the people to petition for redress of
grievances, and the correlative duty of civil officers to fur-
nish, when respectfully requested to do so, such information
as pertained to the welfare and happiness of the people. This
proclamation, he said, had been issued at the urgent request of
General Ord, from whom he received all the information then
in his possession, except a few letters from private citizens.
General Gillem declined to furnish the convention with
the sources of information, believing it would be a breach of
faith to do so, and would result in no public good.1 The
governor's course in another matter had aroused the op-
position of the convention. It will be remembered that
the ladies of Baltimore had contributed supplies for the
relief of the destitute of Mississippi, and had sent their
donations to Governor Humphreys to be distributed. It
appears that the whites were almost wholly the beneficiaries
of this benevolence. When the convention met, one of its
first acts was the appointment of a committee to inquire
into the distribution of all funds received by the state
treasurer or other state officers from various towns, cities,
or private individuals in the Northern states, for the relief
of the destitute in the state, and to demand of the gov-
ernor an itemized statement of the receipts and disburse-
ments of such funds during his term of office. Upon
receiving the request, the governor at once replied that he
had received no such funds. He said, "those who have
intrusted me, as their private agent, with the distribution
of their charities, have neglected to instruct me to account
to your body, and your committee have failed to furnish me
with any evidence that the donors have given you any author-
ity to make the inquiry proposed. As these donors may re-
gard their charities as their own private matters, and may
object to having the names of the beneficiaries made public,
I must respectfully decline to comply with the request of
1 H. Mis. Docs. 3d Ses. 40th Cong, affairs in Mississippi, p. 71. See
also Report Secretary of War, pp. 629-032, for the correspondence between
General Gillem and the convention on this subject.
THE RECONSTRUCTION CONVENTION OF 1868 197
the committee, until authorized to do so by the donors, at
which time I will cheerfully exhibit the proper vouchers."1
This ended the matter.
The convention did not enter actively upon the discharge
of its main duty until provision was made for defraying its
enormous expenses. While the United States government
had borne the expense of registration and election, it was
left to the state to provide the means for the support of the
convention. Various revenue schemes were suggested. One
of these provided for the levy of a tax of $2.50 on every voter
in the state for this purpose.2 Another scheme provided for
the issue of state warrants, to be made receivable in payment
of taxes and other dues to the state. Still another provided
for a committee of three, to confer with the President of the
United States, and represent the " true state of affairs " in
Mississippi, and request from the United States government
a loan of $100,000 for the use of the convention.3 A resolu-
tion was finally adopted instructing the finance committee to
frame an ordinance for levying a tax upon the real and personal
property of the state.4 This, of course, shifted the burden to
the shoulders of those who received so little consideration at
the hands of the convention. Those whom members referred
to as the " loyal " people of the state did not contribute enough
to pay the doorkeepers and pages of the convention.
On the 26th of January, the chairman of the finance com-
mittee called on the commanding general at his headquarters
and asked whether, in the event of the adoption of an ordi-
nance for the levy and collection of a special tax on the real
and movable property of the state, the civil authorities would
be prevented from collecting the tax either by forcible re-
sistance, or injunction, or other judicial process.6 The chair-
man was informed the same day that the civil authorities
would not be prevented from collecting the taxes by forcible
resistance, and any ordinance made in conformity with the
reconstruction acts under which they were assembled would
be recognized as legal.6 With this assurance, the convention
proceeded to enact an elaborate revenue measure, consisting
1 H. Mis. Docs. 3d Ses. 40th Cong, affairs in Mississippi, p. 71.
2 Convention Journal, p. 31. The number of registered voters at the
June election was 139,327. This plan would have produced $348,317.50.
The motion was made by a white Democrat for obvious reasons. The
scheme was, of course, rejected.
3 Ibid. p. 238. * Ibid. p. 125.
5 H. Mis. Docs. 3d Ses. 40th Cong, condition of affairs in Mississippi,
p. 71.
6 Report Secretary of War, 1868, p. 586.
198 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
of thirty-six sections, and imposing a tax on auction stores, dis-
tilleries, livery stables, coal yards, carriage factories, bounty
agents, gunsmiths, banks, exchange brokers, street venders,
express and telegraph offices, grist-mills, cotton gins, ferries,
bridges, turnpikes, billiard tables, photograph galleries, in-
surance agencies, etc. The ordinance reads like a war rev-
enue measure. Even the press did not escape,1 nor the
railroads, although exempt by statute from taxation until
1874.2 Every bale of cotton in the state was taxed fifty
cents. In addition, a special tax equivalent to one-third of
the state tax was levied upon all real and movable property.3
Immediately after the passage of this ordinance, a commit-
tee of tax payers called on General Gillem and protested
against its enforcement, declaring it to be in conflict with
the reconstruction act under which the convention was as-
sembled. That act authorized the convention to lay a tax
on the property of the state for the purpose of defraying the
expenses of the convention. The commanding general de-
clined to take any action, but suggested that they appeal to
the United States district court, as the construction of a
Federal statute was involved. Judge Hill was then applied
to for an injunction to prohibit the collection of the tax.
He declined, without examining into the merits of the bill,
to interfere, on the ground of lack of jurisdiction. They
then applied to one of the state circuit judges, who granted
the injunction. On February 12, the convention passed a
resolution reciting the action of the state courts in enjoining
the collection of the tax and the opposition of the people in
public meetings and through the press, and requested Gen-
eral Gillem to publish an order forbidding interference by
the courts, and directing the people to pay.4 General McKee
was appointed to wait upon the commanding general and pre-
sent the resolution. This he did on the 13th of February.
Gillem's reply was delayed until the 19th. He then informed
the convention that after a careful examination of the ordi-
nance, he was convinced that many of its provisions were in
violation of the reconstruction act; that they had not re-
1 The amount imposed on each daily newspaper was $50 ; on each tri-
weekly, $30 ; on each weekly, $20 ; on each job printing office, $25.
2 Five of the roads were assessed $200 each ; three, $50 each ; and the
others $10 each.
8 The ordinance is published in the Report of the Secretary of War, pp.
616-620.
4 The commanding general was requested to "answer immediately."
They had now been in session more than a month without having received
any compensation.
THE KECONSTRUCTION CONVENTION OF 1868 199
stricted themselves to levying a tax on property, but had
taxed persons, privileges, and franchises ; had, in fact, made
some of their taxes retrospective in effect ; and, moreover,
had assumed the legislative power of creating a new system
for the collection of the tax, through collectors unknown to
the laws of the state, and from whom no bonds were required ;
and also a special treasurer to receive and disburse the money
collected.1 It was General Gillem's opinion that the tax
would net an income of $300,000, although the convention
claimed to need only $100,000. 2 The convention was in-
formed that the additional state tax levied by the twenty-
seventh article of the ordinance seemed to be in conformity
with the reconstruction act, and he would afford them every
facility in collecting it. The others he declined to enforce.
He recommended that sheriffs be intrusted with the collec-
tion of the tax, and the state treasurer with the disbursement
of the funds.3
On the 27th of February, the convention adopted another
revenue ordinance. It levied a general tax, equal to fifty
per cent of the state tax for 1867, upon all property ; a spe-
cial tax of one and one-half per cent on the value of stock
belonging to all dry goods stores, groceries, drug stores, and
all other personal property of whatever nature ; and fifty
cents on every bale of cotton in the state.4 Sheriffs were
authorized to make the collections. This was acceptable to
General Gillem, and he issued an order directing the sheriffs
to proceed with the collection, though he extended the time of
collection from ten to thirty days.5 Soon after the publication
of this order, the commanding general received a communica-
tion from the president of one of the railroads, protesting
1 Section 17 provided for at least one collector in each county, who was to
receive as compensation for his services five per cent of all money collected.
The collectors were given extraordinary powers. They were authorized to
administer certain oaths, and if not satisfied with the statement of the person
as to the amount of his sales, the collector might assess and collect whatever
seemed to him just. There was no limit to the exaction which he might
make. Only five days' notice was to be given to the tax payer. The prop-
erty of the delinquent was to be sold on three days' notice. Gibbs, a car-
pet bagger, had made an effort to get through an ordinance exempting all
officers from making bonds.
2 The convention seems to have anticipated this, as provision was made
for investing the surplus in U. S. Bonds.
3 The text of his letter to McKee is printed in the Report of the Secretary
of War, pp. 621, 623.
4 The ordinance is printed in the Report of the Secretary of War, p. 625.
6 Ibid. p. 625. The convention was afterward convinced that even this
extension did not allow sufficient time for the collection of the tax, and re-
quested, by resolution, that it be extended from April 6 to August 1.
200 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
against the assessment of the tax on his road, on the ground
that it was exempt by law from taxation until 1874. l Gen-
eral Gillem referred the communication to the judge advo-
cate and to the attorney general of the state, both of whom
gave opinions that the tax was illegal, the exemption being
a vested and chartered right.2 The High Court of Errors
and Appeals had also taken this view.3 General Gillem
accordingly issued an order directing sheriffs not to collect
the tax on railroads. The convention then appointed a
committee to confer with the general on the subject. They
called on him May 15, at Vicksburg ; insisted that the con-
vention had the same power to tax property in Mississippi
that Congress had ; that it did not recognize any state law
or chartered rights granted by the legislature, and that if
the collection of the tax, estimated at $50,000, was not
enforced, it would be necessary for the convention to delay
its contemplated adjournment, or meet again in about ten
days to provide for the deficiency thus caused, which would
involve a much heavier expense. General Gillem says he
was convinced that the convention was exceeding its powers
and violating the national Constitution. As for the delay
of the contemplated adjournment, he did not think it had
sufficient legal force to require refutation. He therefore
declined to enforce the tax on railroads, but assured the
convention that he would enforce the collection of any tax
which might be levied in conformity with the acts of Con-
gress, and that sheriffs who had failed to collect the tax
already levied should be directed to do so at once.4 A list
of delinquent counties was reported to him, and he at once
issued an order informing the sheriffs of those counties that
a failure to collect the taxes would be considered a failure
to faithfully execute the duties of tax collector, as required
by their bonds. The taxes were paid reluctantly, of course,
1 An act of Feb. 27, 1854, had exempted from taxation for twenty years
the fixtures and property of the S. W. Air Line Extension R. R. Co., and
extended its benefits to all railroad charters granted before the passage of the
act as well as all granted thereafter.
2 See Report of Secretary of War, pp. 635, 637, for their opinions.
8 So R. R. Co. vs. Mayor and Alderman of Jackson, 38 Miss. p. 334.
* Report of Secretary of War, p. 641. The Jackson Clarion of April 13
contains a strong appeal to General Gillem to " call a halt" upon schemes of
the convention. It said: "In the n?me of a long-suffering, tax-ridden, and
patient people, we appeal to him for relief. The people are not permitted to
right their own wrongs, else they would not ask for help. Goaded almost to
desperation, they appeal earnestly to the commander to see that the law is
no longer wantonly and deliberately violated for purposes of insult and
pelf."
THE BECONSTRUCTION CONVENTION OF 1868 201
and the convention seems to have had ample funds to meet
its enormous expenses.
After having been in session more than a month, discuss-
ing schemes for the " relief " of " loyal " people, endeavoring
to adopt a tax ordinance that would be acceptable to General
Gillem, and in passing various resolutions relating to state
sovereignty, and explanatory of the principles of govern-
ment as they understood them, a motion was carried for the
appointment of a committee of fifteen, to prepare a constitu-
tion for the state, and to report in three days.1 A resolution
to adopt the old constitution with the changes made neces-
sary by the abolition of slavery was laid on the table. It
was determined that the new constitution should have as
little in common with that of 1865 as possible. The subject
receiving the greatest attention was the qualifications for
office and suffrage. The discussion on these topics began in
February, and continued until the latter part of April. A
strong effort was made by the minority to secure the adop-
tion of a provision that would exclude from the franchise
the great mass of ignorant blacks. After the report of the
franchise committee, a long and acrimonious debate took
place, during the course of which many personalities were
indulged in.2
The franchise article was adopted by a large majority on
the eighty-sixth day of the convention, whereupon twelve of
the white delegates resigned their seats and returned to their
homes. They were followed by two others on the succeed-
ing day.3 "They are," said the Clarion of April 17, "a
1 On the forty-fifth day the convention began holding night sessions. On
the sixty -sixth day Aaron Moore offered a resolution that as the convention
was composed of majors, generals, captains, lawyers, ministers, farmers,
planters, and blacksmiths, they ought to go to work and frame a constitution,
and go home to their constituents. It was unanimously adopted. It was
not until the convention had been in session one hundred and eleven days
that they consented to the adoption of a resolution that after a certain date
(May 15), the per diem of members should cease. Journal, p. 687.
2 At one point the bitterness became so great that personal altercations
and fights were of common occurrence. The president of the convention
was assaulted in front of the capitol building by a Democratic delegate. Other
fights occurred. A majority of the members on both sides went armed.
3 Journal, p. 541. The vote on the franchise article was 44 to 25. For
some weeks the Democratic members had taken little part in the proceedings.
They felt that they were out of place, and consequently remained away.
Their absence was the subject of criticism by the Republicans. On the 13th
of February, Captain Castello moved the appointment of a physician to in-
quire into the health of the absent members. It was charged that they were
engaged in writing articles for the newspapers, defamatory of the convention,
and otherwise impeding the work of reconstruction. Journal, p. 273. One
delegate was expelled for drunkenness and for publishing an article impugn-
202 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
noble band whose names will long be remembered by their
countrymen."
By the franchise article as finally adopted, applicants for
registration were required to take and subscribe to the test
oath prescribed by the reconstruction acts, and swear further
that they admitted the civil and political equality of all men.1
No person was eligible to office who, as a member of the legis-
lature, had voted for the call of the secession convention ;
or who, as a delegate to any such convention, had voted for or
signed the ordinance of secession ; or who had given voluntary
aid, countenance, counsel, or encouragement to persons en-
gaged in armed hostility to the United States ; or who had
accepted or attempted to exercise the functions of any office,
civil or military, under any authority or pretended govern-
ment, authority, power, or constitution within the United
States hostile or inimical thereto, except all persons who
had aided reconstruction by voting for the convention ;
or who had continuously advocated the assembling of it
and should continuously and in good faith advocate the acts
of the same.2 Members of the legislature and state officers
were required to make oath that they had never, as members
of any convention, voted for or signed an ordinance of seces-
sion, or, as members of any legislature, voted for the call of
any convention that passed such an ordinance.3 Many other
resolutions, generally with long preambles, were adopted.
One declared all acts of the convention of 1865 null and
void ; another changed the name of Davis County to Jones,
and the name of the county seat from Leesburg to Jonesboro,
and the name of Lee County to Lincoln ; 4 another provided
for the appointment of a committee of fifteen to take into
consideration the propriety of moving the capital from Jack-
son to Kosciusko.5 Other ordinances forbade forever the
adoption of any property qualification for office or the adop-
tion of any property or educational qualification for suffrage ;
ing the motives of members. The Democratic members fell to making light
of the convention, and offered various resolutions to bring it into contempt.
One such began with the preamble : " We the carpet baggers and scalawags
of Ohio, Vermont, Connecticut, Maine, Africa," etc. Another moved that
the " whole convention go down to Pearl River and drown itself." Journal,
p. 209. After the twelfth day, newspaper reporters were excluded for desig-
nating negro members as "colored," and for refusing to prefix "Mr." to
their names.
1 Section 3, Art. 7. 2 Section 5, Art. 7. 8 Section 26, Art. 12.
4 Convention Journal, pp. 133, 145.
6 Ibid., p. 646. The committee reported in favor of continuing the cap-
ital at Jackson until 1875, after which it should be removed to Kosciusko, a
village situated then twenty-five miles from the nearest railroad.
THE RECONSTRUCTION CONVENTION OF 1868 203
forbade slavery or involuntary servitude in the state other-
wise than in punishment for crime ; denied the right of
any state to withdraw from the Union on account of any
real or supposed grievances ; forbade the making of any
distinction among the citizens in reference to the pos-
session, enjoyment, or descent of property ; prohibited the
abridgment of the right of all citizens to travel on public
conveyances ; and recommended to Congress the removal
of the political disabilities of one hundred and thirty
persons.1
This was the chief work of the " Black and Tan " conven-
tion. After having been in session one hundred and fifteen
days, it adjourned May 18.2
The cost of making the constitution and securing its adop-
tion was at least a quarter of a million dollars. The per
diem of the delegates aggregated $116,150. The pay of the
large number of employees and hangers-on probably raised
the amount to $150,000 ; 3 $28,518.75 was paid to four
newly established Republican papers to print the proceed-
ings.
The amount was distributed as follows : —
Mississippi State Journal ...... $13,924
Vicksburg Republican 6,910
Meridian Chronicle » 5,428
Mississippi Pilot ....... 2,255
This does not include the cost of printing the large jour-
nal of nearly 800 pages, nor the cost of publishing the con-
1 Relative to this memorial, one of the radicals wrote Speaker Colfax,
saying : " We need these men to fill certain positions in the party, and to labor
for its success, and it is of great importance to us that their disabilities be
removed so that the reward of loyalty may be seen and felt. They have all
done us great service, and are still at work fighting valiantly side by side with
the best and truest radicals of the party. We want them for office." H.
Mis. Docs. 2d Ses. 40th Cong. No. 34.
2 The following comparative table shows the number of days for which
each of the several constitutional conventions in Mississippi, except that of
1817, was in session : —
Convention of 1832 29 days.
Convention of 1861 23 days.
Convention of 1865 11 days.
Convention of 1868 115 days.
Convention of 1890 71 days.
3 The Appendix to the House Journal of 1870, pp. 125-178, contains a list
of the convention warrants that had been cashed up to September 1. There
were 3071 warrants, amounting to $130,886.13. The cost of the constitu-
tional convention of 1890 was $53,760, exclusive of printing. It does not
204 EECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
stitution and ordinances in the local papers, nor the cost of
printing 20,000 copies for distribution. Items like the
following appear on the pages of the Journal : —
For printing constitution, Summit Sentinel .... $ 481
For printing constitution, Corinth News .... 400
For printing constitution, Grenada Sentinel .... 245
For " services as public printers," Gens. Dugan and Stafford . 30,337
In addition to the expenditures on account of the conven-
tion must, of course, be reckoned the cost of revising the
registration lists twice, and of holding two elections before
the constitution was finally ratified. As will be seen later
on, the expenses under these two heads were very large,
and were defrayed out of the state treasury.
Before adjourning, the convention made elaborate provi-
sion for submitting the constitution to the people. The
22d of June was selected as the day on which the election
should begin. It was to be continued through such period
as the commanding general might direct, in order that every
voter should have an opportunity to express his preference.
Provision was made also for an election at the same time
of state officers, members of the legislature, and members of
Congress. The legislature to be chosen was to meet on the
second Monday after the official promulgation of the consti-
tution, and proceed at once to ratify the Fourteenth Amend-
ment. Until this was done, that body was to have no power
of legislation, nor were members to receive any compensa-
tion for their services. Another notable provision was the
appointment of a committee of five from the members of the
convention to have general supervision of the arrangements
for holding the election, to ascertain the result, and make
proclamation thereof. This committee was empowered to
sit during the adjournment of the convention, and exercise
all powers "necessary to carry into effect the purposes of
the reconstruction acts." It was authorized to appoint three
commissioners for each county to attend the election, be
present at the counting of the votes, and forward the result
to the chairman.1 The committee of five was empowered to
appear from the Journal the amount expended on the latter account. The
expenditures on account of the convention of 1865 amounted to $14,050.
1 These commissioners were to receive $6 per day and their expenses, to
be paid out of the convention fund. This added vastly to the cost of the
convention. It is the testimony of certain of General Gillem's election in-
spectors that in numerous instances these commissioners rented offices when
there were vacant rooms in the courthouses which they might have used.
THE RECONSTRUCTION CONVENTION OF 1868 205
reconvene the convention in the event of the rejection of
the constitution.
VIII. PARTY POLITICS IN 1868
The day after the adjournment of the convention, that is.
May 19, General Gillem issued an order reciting the authority
under which the convention had been called, and announced
that its labors were now terminated, and the constitution of
government would be submitted to the registered voters of
the state for their ratification or rejection, beginning on June
22, and continuing until every elector had had an opportunity
to cast his vote. Electors were to vote " For the Constitu-
tion " or "Against the Constitution," and also, upon the same
ballots, for state officers and representatives in Congress.
Commencing fourteen days before the election, the several
boards of registration were to meet at the county seats in
their respective counties, and after having given reasonable
public notice, were to proceed to revise the registration lists
for a period of five days. All additions and removals were
required to be reported to headquarters.
In order to secure as nearly as possible a full expression
of the people, it was ordered that the election should be
held at each precinct under the direct supervision of the
board of registration. Each county was to be divided into
three equal portions, to each of which was assigned a registrar,
who, with a judge and a clerk of his own appointment, was to
be held responsible for the conduct of the election. They
were to provide themselves with ballot-boxes, locks, and keys,
and after giving timely notice by means of hand-bills, were
to proceed from precinct to precinct, holding the election
on consecutive days, when the distance between precincts
would permit. Detailed instructions were given for opening
and closing the polls, examining certificates of registration, in-
specting, locking, and sealing ballot-boxes, etc. Registrars
were to begin at the most remote precinct and proceed toward
the county-seat, at which place an election was to be held under
the joint supervision of all the registrars for the benefit of
any voters who might not have had an opportunity to vote
in their precincts. Judges and clerks of election were to be
selected by registrars, preferably from among the residents
They continued to draw pay for days after the election. The expenses of
these 105 commissioners must have aggregated $10,000, assuming that the
expense of each was about $60.
206 BECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
of their respective districts, if competent persons of eligibility
were available. They were required to take and subscribe
to the iron-clad oath of July 2, 1862, a copy of which was
to be transmitted to headquarters and kept on file in the
office of the acting assistant adjutant general. Careful lists
of all registered voters who did not vote were to be kept and
forwarded to headquarters. None but registered voters were
allowed to challenge the right of others to vote. Sheriffs
were to be held responsible for preservation of order, and were
directed to appoint a sufficient number of deputies for each
precinct. As additional safeguards for insuring peace, each
judge, registrar, and clerk was empowered to make arrests ;
and all public bar-rooms, and other places at which intoxicat-
ing liquors were sold, were ordered to be closed on election
days. The carrying of firearms or other deadly weapons in
the vicinity of the polls was strictly prohibited. Registra-
tion judges and clerks were forbidden to stand as candidates
for any office, and all army officers and bureau agents were
prohibited from electioneering, speaking, or endeavoring to
influence voters, although they might instruct freedmen in
regard to their rights as electors. The commanding general
announced that he would exercise to the fullest extent the
powers vested in him to secure a fair election, and he warned
all persons against attempts to abridge the right of electors
by contracts.1 On the following day, he announced, by gen-
eral order, the names of the registrars for the several coun-
ties.2 An active army officer or an ex-Union soldier was
placed on each registration board. The other two members
were usually native Republicans, although occasionally a
Democrat was appointed. Appointees were directed to re-
port at once their acceptance, and to subscribe to and forward
to headquarters a copy of the test oath.
A week later, the commanding general issued another order
detailing ten army officers to serve as inspectors of election,
one for each of the ten districts into which the state was
divided.3 It was made their duty to visit the boards of regis-
tration in their respective districts, and ascertain by close
inquiry and examination whether the registrars fully under-
stood their duties, and to furnish them such information arid
instruction as might appear to be necessary. They were
required to make detailed reports to headquarters of the
1 See Keport of the Secretary of War, 1868-1869, pp. 645-648 ; also H.
Mis. Docs. 3d Ses. 40th Cong. No. 53, p. 75.
2 Ibid. p. 649 ; ibid. p. 79, where names of registrars are given.
8 Report Secretary of War, p. 651.
PARTY POLITICS IN 1868 207
progress of registration in each county, and to make minute
inquiry into the nature of the services performed by regis-
trars, in order to be able to form correct judgments as to the
reasonableness of their accounts. Furthermore, they were to
give particular attention to the cost and means of transporta-
tion and the rental of offices for registrars.
When it was found that improper persons had been ap-
pointed, they were to recommend removals and nominate
their successors by telegraph. They were authorized to give
orders in the name of the commanding general, and to keep
him constantly informed of the progress of the election.1
Registrars were also directed to travel throughout their sub-
divisions during the nine days intervening between the close
of the registration books and the beginning of the election,
and give general and thorough notice of the time at which
the election would be held in each precinct. The command-
ing general urged upon registrars the most rigid econ-
omy, and informed them that whenever their accounts were
deemed excessive they would be disallowed.2
On June 12, he issued a circular designating one person in
each county to take the election returns and records of
registration boards to Vicksburg.3 Other circulars directed
that the polls should be open two days instead of one
in the fourteen largest towns of the state ; authorized
duplicate certificates in certain cases; and directed inspec-
tors to fill vacancies in registration boards in certain con-
tingencies.4 The constitutional convention having provided
for the election of state officers, representatives in Con-
gress, and members of the state legislature, a circular
was issued May 28, defining the congressional and state
senatorial districts and apportioning representatives in the
legislature.
On the 15th of June, General Gillem announced through
a general order that commanding officers of stations, posts,
or detachments would be held responsible for the preserva-
tion of peace and good order during the election, and directed
that detachments be sent to such places as might be deemed
necessary, to protect all classes in the right of voting.5 Five
additional companies of troops were brought from the Depart-
ment of the Cumberland to aid in maintaining peace. These,
with the troops already in the state, amounted to thirty-two
companies, and were distributed at sixty-three points. Gen-
1 Report Secretary of War, p. 655. 2 Ibid. pp. 654. 655.
» The circular is printed in ibid. p. 661. * Ibid. pp. 658-659.
6 Gen. Orders, No. 8, ibid. 134.
208 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
eral Gillem asserts that in every instance in which it was
reported that fears of disturbance or interference with elec-
tions was apprehended, regardless of the source from which
the report emanated, troops were sent to the locality, in order
to insure peace and prevent intimidation.1
Nothing illustrates so well the thoroughness of the con-
gressional policy of reconstruction as the regulations for
registering the voters and conducting the elections. Every
possible precaution to prevent fraud and unfairness seems to
have been taken by the district commander. It is difficult
to see what more could have been done.
The policy of the convention had hardly been determined
when the friends and opponents of the constitution began to
marshal their forces for the contest that was evidently pre-
paring. The Republican state convention met at Jackson,
February 5, less than a month after the meeting of the recon-
struction convention. There were about 175 delegates
present, the majority of whom were members and hangers-
on of the reconstruction convention. The leading candidates
for the gubernatorial nomination were General Eggleston
and Mr. Musgrove, both Northern men, and Judge Alderson,
a native Republican. General Eggleston was nominated. He
was a native of Saratoga County, New York, and claimed the
distinction of having received the surrender of Atlanta. The
other nominees were also Northern men, with two exceptions.
The negro race was completely ignored, although a strong
appeal was made in behalf of the Rev. Mr. Stringer for a place
on the ticket. " Two things are noticeable," said the Clarion,
in regard to the action of the radical convention : ".first,
the imported stock out-distanced all competitors ; second,
Sambo was left out." The negroes, who constituted ninety-
nine one-hundredths of the Republican voters, were naturally
not pleased with this sort of recognition, and some of them
protested loudly. One of these was the Rev. Mr. Fitzhugh,
a well-educated negro from the North, and a member of the
reconstruction convention. He published a letter in the
Woodville Republican of August 1, 1868, in which he informed
his race of the action of the state convention in refusing to
recognize their claims, and of his belief that it was the
intention of the white Republicans not to permit colored men
to hold office. He accordingly urged them to join hands with
the Southern whites and " bid defiance " to the carpet bagger.
These men, he said, " garbed in the disguise of friends to us,
1 Report Secretary of War, p. 74.
PARTY POLITICS IN 1868 209
are impostors, and will cause more blood to be spilt than the
Union is worth." He announced his withdrawal from the
Republican party, believing it to be " ruinous to the Union,
and an enemy to the black race." 1
After some wrangling, the convention endorsed General
Grant for President, and adopted a platform pledging its
adherence to the Republican party, declared in favor of equal
rights to all, and " unwavering fidelity " to the Union, and
announced that it would stand by these principles, and never
lower the standard of Republicanism. The convention also
nominated presidential electors, all except one of whom were
44 carpet baggers."
The opponents of the constitution began to bestir them-
selves even earlier than the reconstructionists. On the 8th of
January, the day after the assembling of the reconstruction
convention, the Jackson Clarion published an urgent call for
a convention of " white citizens," to meet on the first Monday
in February, to "take into consideration our situation, and
determine our future course." It pleaded for a union of all
white men as the only means of preventing the ratification of a
constitution which, it apprehended, would embody the " worst
elements of radicalism." "We need and pray," said the
Clarion, " for such a body. It is no time for pique, petulance,
or preference. It is no time for personalities, or for narrow,
purblind selfishness."
On the 16th of January, a convention of conservatives was
held at Jackson, and a platform of principles adopted.
They styled themselves the Democratic White Man's Party
of Mississippi, and declared that the " nefarious design of the
Republican party to place the white men of the Southern
states under governmental control of their late slaves, and
degrade the Caucasian race as the inferiors of the African
race, is a crime against the civilization of the age which needs
only to be mentioned to be scorned by all intelligent minds,
and we, therefore, call upon the people of Mississippi to
vindicate alike the superiority of their race over the negro,
and their political power to maintain constitutional liberty."
Nothing worried the leaders of this party so much as -the fear
of division among the whites, such as existed the year before.
The January convention, in dropping the name of the party
(Constitutional Union), under which the campaign was con-
ducted in 1867, was the subject of considerable opposition
upon the part of the more conservative opponents of the con-
1 The letter is printed in the New York Herald of Aug. 18, 1868.
p
210 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
stitution. The Clarion of January 18, in a strong appeal for
unity of action said: " Fellow-citizens, let there be no strife
among us in this solemn hour. We are all Constitutional
Union men, we are all Democrats, let us unite with one
heart and one mind."
On the 19th of February, what seems to have been the
regular state convention of the Democratic party was held at
Jackson. It was largely attended, and was in session three
or four days. There was a considerable difference of opinion
among the delegates as to the proper course to pursue, although
the Clarion said there was no difference of principle. They
endorsed the action of the January convention, and adopted a
long platform severely arraigning the radicals, and declar-
ing that the only hope for the restoration of constitutional
liberty lay in the defeat of the constitution.
They denied that the state had ever been out of the Union,
and affirmed that the convention then in session assuming
to frame a constitution of government for Mississippi, was
assembled without constitutional authority, the delegates not
being elected by the qualified voters of the state, but by
negroes destitute alike of the moral and intellectual qualifi-
cations required of electors in all civilized countries, com-
bined with a small minority of white adventurers from other
states; that the acts of the latter class demonstrated them
to be the enemies of the people of the state, who had consti-
tuted it from its territorial infancy to the present time ; that,
under a fraudulent pretence of framing a constitution, they
were wickedly conspiring to disfranchise and degrade the
people, and rob them of their liberty and property, to destroy
their political and social status, and, finally, to place them
under the yoke of a negro government.
The convention appointed a committee of five to prepare
and publish an address to the people of the state " explana-
tory of the views and principles which govern the Demo-
cratic party." April 27, the address was issued. It called
upon the people for renewed activity to defeat the radical
constitution. A plan of organization was submitted to the
county associations for their acceptance. It appealed to all
lovers of liberty to assemble and organize, and prepare for
the great contest before them. There was a registered ma-
jority of seventeen thousand to be overcome, but with eternal
vigilance and activity it could be done.
On the 12th of May, the convention was reassembled to
determine more definitely what action should be taken at the
coming election. The February convention had neither
PARTY POLITICS IN 1868 211
nominated state officers, presidential electors, nor decided
whether it would be expedient to take any part in the elec-
tion on the constitution. Their first thought was to defeat it
by 4i sullen inactivity," but the action of Congress in provid-
ing that a majority of the votes cast at the election would
be sufficient to ratify the constitution spoiled this plan. The
reassembled convention therefore nominated a state ticket,
and advised that an effort be made to defeat the constitution
by outvoting the Republicans. It made no difference which
way the election went, their nominees for state offices would
never be installed into office, for if the constitution was
defeated, there could be no state officers, and if it was ratified,
the Republican nominees would, of course, be elected. Officers
were nominated, therefore, with no expectation that they
would ever be called upon to serve, but as a means of rally-
ing the voters. The executive committee was empowered to
nominate presidential electors in the event the state was
permitted to take part in the presidential election. General
Gillem was appealed to for permission to take part in the
choice of electors, but he informed the chairman of the
Democratic executive committee that he had no authority to
order such an election. The state, therefore, took no part in
the presidential election of 1868.
As the prescriptive character of the constitution became
more generally understood, the opposition of the whites
increased. Every man who had given counsel or encourage-
ment to a Confederate soldier was to be debarred from office.
It was provided, however, that these proscriptive clauses
should not apply to those who had aided reconstruction by
voting for the convention, or who had continuously advocated
its assembling, or who had in good faith advocated all its
acts. Simple acquiescence in their work of proscription and
disfranchisement, however sincere, was not sufficient; but
continuous and outspoken advocacy of acts which the com-
manding general had to suppress as palpable violations of
law and justice was necessary to secure to the most intelli-
gent and virtuous citizen rights accorded to the most ignorant
of his former slaves. The franchise clause was almost equally
obnoxious to the whites. The applicant for registration was
required, in the first place, to make oath that he was not
disfranchised by the reconstruction acts. This in itself
excluded a large and influential class. He was, moreover,
required to make oath that he believed in the political and
civil equality of all men. Removal of political disabilities
imposed by the reconstruction acts was not valid in Missis-
212 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
sippi until the act of Congress should be concurred in by the
state legislature. This constitution thus practically denied
the power of Congress to remove political disabilities without
the consent of the state legislature. There were, besides the
so-called proscriptive features of the constitution, other objec-
tions. The next governor, who, it was well understood,
would be General Eggleston, was made a veritable autocrat.
He was to have the appointment of all judges, supreme and
circuit, all chancellors, all militia officers, and all county,
district, and precinct officers. The present incumbents were
to be removed by him within thirty days, and his power of
appointment was to continue until the legislature should pro-
vide by law for the election of such officers.1 Other objec-
tions were the provision for mixed schools and the increased
expense of administering the government under the new
constitution. Relative to the proscriptive features of the con-
stitution, the Clarion asserted that if adopted it would dis-
franchise twenty or thirty thousand citizens of the state, and
that not more than one thousand whites would be able to
hold office, vote, serve on juries, or teach in the public
schools.2 "Such a picture," it said, "is shocking, and is an
outrage on humanity, an impious desecration of religion, and
a declaration of outlawry against the virtue and intelligence
of the state — a decree of exile against her white citizens, for
they could not live under such a government." 3 Although a
negro majority of nearly twenty thousand had to be overcome,
a determined effort was made to do it. Early in the cam-
paign, J. Z. George addressed an open letter to the people,
advising them to arouse from their lethargy and organize for
the election. The letter was widely published, and the sug-
gestions contained in it were acted upon. The Yazoo Banner
called upon the young men to organize for the "impending
struggle." The Clarion endorsed the appeal, declared that
the cause which they represented was as holy as any that
ever gave strength to the arm of man or inspiration to the
heart, and appealed to the young men to organize not only
into " clubs " but into " vigilance committees " and " commit-
tees of correspondence " and "enter at once upon the work with
1 One of the best informed men of the state at the time estimated that the
number of civil officers which would come within the purview of the provision
would aggregate 2160 ; the number of militia officers, 6450, making a total of
over 8000 offices, which it was expected would be distributed among the
friends of the convention. Appendix, 41st Cong. p. 25. Testimony of Judge
J. W. C. Watson.
2 Issue of June 25, 1868.
8 Issue of January 22, 1868.
PARTY POLITICS IN 1868 213
all the zeal of their generous and unselfish natures." " They
ought," the editor said, " to have a club at every precinct,
and move in solid column when the final day of the struggle
comes."1 Again it called upon the people to hold regular
meetings and appoint canvassers, and in all their movements
" be firm, discreet, and resolute." 2 " With such exertions, we
know," said the hopeful editor, " that the constitution can be
defeated, and oh, how great will be the reward ! " 3
The campaign that ensued has certainly never been sur-
passed in enthusiasm and determination except by the great
contest of 1875. The student who reads the local news-
papers of the time cannot fail to find abundant evidence that
the whites were aroused as they had never been before. The
address of the state executive committee covered an entire
page of the Clarion, and was kept running in its columns dur-
ing the whole campaign. The same paper, of May 29, con-
tained announcements of thirty-six Democratic mass meetings,
at one or more of which every speaker of note in the state
was billed for an address. In Rankin County alone sixteen
mass meetings were held during the first week in June.
Such was the political campaign of 1868. Just before the
election began, the attention of the people was diverted by
another event, namely the supersedure of General Gillem and
the appointment of General Irwin McDowell in his stead.
IX. THE REMOVAL OF GOVERNOR HUMPHREYS AND THE
APPOINTMENT OF GENERAL AMES
Having completed elaborate preparations for holding
the election, General Gillem, by direction of the President,
turned over the command of the fourth district to General
Irwin McDowell, who ruled Mississippi from June 4 to
July 4.
During his brief administration, he issued but five gen-
eral orders, only one of which has any historical importance.
That was an order for the removal of the civil governor,
Mr. Humphreys, and the attorney general, Mr. Hooker. The
reason alleged for the displacement of these officials was
their opposition to the reconstruction acts. The specific
charge was activity in the campaign against the constitution.
Brevet Major General Adelbert Ames, lieutenant colonel
of the Twenty-fourth Infantry, was appointed provisional
1 Issue of April 7, 1868. a I^Q Of April 15. 8 Issue of May 12.
214 EECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
governor. Captain Jasper Myers, United States army, was
detailed to perform the duties of attorney general. On
February 9 following, the Secretary of State was also re-
moved, and Mr. Warner, late of the Federal army, was
appointed in his stead. The new appointees were directed
to repair without delay to Jackson, and enter at once upon
the discharge of their respective duties. They were to
receive no further allowances than as officers of the army.
General Ames proceeded at once to Jackson, informed Gov-
ernor Humphreys of his appointment, and expressed a desire
to be notified of the time when it would be convenient to
receive him for the purpose of carrying out the order.
Governor Humphreys delayed his answer nearly a week,
and then informed General Ames that he regarded the
attempt to remove him as a usurpation of the civil govern-
ment of Mississippi, unwarranted and in violation of the Con-
stitution of the United States ; and that he had telegraphed
the President, and was authorized to say that the executive
disapproved the order making the removal. " I must, there-
fore," he concluded, "in view of my duty to the constitu-
tional rights of the people of Mississippi, and the disapproval
of the President, refuse to vacate the office of governor, or
surrender the archives and public property until a legally
qualified successor under the constitution of Mississippi is
appointed." On the following day, Colonel Biddle, com-
manding the military post at Jackson, made a formal demand
upon Mr. Humphreys for the governor's office, and being
refused, sent a detail of soldiers into the state house to take
forcible possession. The governor called in several persons
to witness the seizure of the office and the ejection of the
chief executive, in order that the world might know, he
said, that he yielded only to "stern, unrelenting military
tyranny." Upon his return to the office, from which he
had temporarily absented himself, he was ordered to halt
at the point of the bayonet, and was not permitted to
enter.1
The removal of the governor and attorney general was
the subject of loud protest by the Democratic press. The
Vicksburg Times gave the following account of the affair
1 Lowry & McCardle, Hist, of Miss. p. 380. Relative to Humphreys' refu-
sal to surrender, the Clarion of June 23 said : "Let the general now exhibit
his army in front of the Capitol in a time of peace. Let him open his batter-
ies and charge with his bayonets. Let him enter by force the office of the
governor. Let him bivouac as did Grant in the executive mansion. There
let him play Bombastes Furioso ; there let him strut the hero and ape the
wise man ; there let him issue the victor's bulletin."
THE BEMOVAL OF GOVERNOR HUMPHREYS 215
which represented the view of the less conservative Demo-
crats : —
The First Act of Our New Despot — Shoulder- Straps in the
Executive Mansion
" General McDowell has signalled his appearance in Mis-
sissippi by removing and attempting to degrade two of the
ablest and purest officers of which any state can boast. For
this act of tyranny, insolence, and outrage on the part of
our new-fledged despot, General McDowell has neither
apology nor the shadow of excuse. It is a gross, wanton,
and outrageous exercise of unbridled power of brute force
which is as disgraceful as it is indefensible."
The executive mansion was taken possession of in a simi-
lar manner. For some days after the ejection of Governor
Humphreys from the executive office, his family was per-
mitted to occupy a part of the official residence jointly with
General Ames. But the course of political events was not
satisfactory to General Ames. Accordingly, he addressed
a letter to Mr. Humphreys informing him that since his
appointment as provisional governor he had found good
cause to change his mind in regard to the joint occupancy
of the mansion, and that he desired it to be vacated at as
early a date as possible. Mr. Humphreys at once replied
that the executive mansion was built by the tax payers of
Mississippi only for the use and occupancy of their constitu-
tional governors and families ; that at the recent election,
the qualified voters, both black and white, had unmistakably
expressed their desire for his continuance in the use and
occupancy of the mansion ; and that, moreover, such occu-
pancy could not obstruct the administration of the recon-
struction laws. He therefore respectfully declined to vacate
the mansion until a legally qualified successor should be
elected under the constitution and laws of the state. Gen-
eral Ames grew impatient at a correspondence that seemed
destined to be protracted indefinitely, and on July 10
wrote : " You entirely ignore the reconstruction acts and
the action taken by those empowered to act under them. I
recognize no other authority. The feeling entertained not
only by me, but by others, not to cause you any personal
inconvenience has, through your own action, ceased to exist.
This controversy about the mansion can only terminate as
indicated in my letter of yesterday." This ended the corre-
216 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
spondence.1 Colonel Biddle was called upon to do the
rest. Accordingly, on July 13, he addressed a note to Mr.
Humphreys informing him that the mansion must be vacated.
The note was delivered by Lieutenant Bache, who, with a
guard detailed for the purpose, proceeded to execute the
order.
He notified the governor of his purpose, and expressed
a desire to avoid all unpleasantness toward him and his
family, but added, " If you desire for political purposes to
have a military pantomime, it shall be carried out with
all the appearance of a reality without actual indignity."
There could be but one termination to this controversy.
The governor and his family were marched out between the
files of guards, leaving General Ames in possession.
General McDowell made but a single change in General
Gillem's arrangements for holding the election. Three days
before the beginning of the election he issued an order
directing that the election should be continued for an addi-
tional day at each county seat, exclusively for the benefit of
those who had lost their certificates of registration.2
X. THE REJECTION OF THE CONSTITUTION
The result of the election was a surprise to both parties.
On the 10th of July, General Gillem, who had, in the mean-
time, been restored to the command of Mississippi,3 announced
by general order that 56,281 votes had been cast for the con-
stitution, and 63,860 against it. He announced further that
four of the five members elected to Congress were Democrats,4
that Humphreys had defeated Eggleston for governor by a
majority of over 8000, and that of the 138 members of the
legislature, the Democrats had secured 66. 5
1 The correspondence continued through a period of more than a week.
It is printed in Appleton's Ann. Cyclop, for 1869 under article "Missis-
sippi."
2 Gen. Orders No. 24, H. Mis. Docs. 3d Ses. 40th Cong. No. 33, p. 93.
8 Relative to the restoration of General Gillem to his old command, the
Clarion of July 2 said: "Another 'fraud' has been perpetrated at the
expense of radicalism. General Gillem is again in command. Let the peo-
ple rejoice. The clouds of apprehension will soon be dispelled. The rays of
law, liberty, and order are brightly beaming."
4 All the Republican nominees for Congress were Northern men. George
C. McKee was the only successful candidate on the Republican ticket.
6 The legislature contained about a dozen negro members, but one of
whom was a senator. This was the Rev. Mr. Stringer of Vicksburg. See
Report of Secretary of War, 18G8, pp. 590-003, and H. Mis. Docs, supra,
for the election returns as reported by General Gillem.
THE REJECTION OF THE CONSTITUTION 217
In officially reporting the result of the election, General
Gillem alluded to the charges of fraud made by both parties,
but expressed the belief that the election had been as free
from intimidation and fraud as was possible to secure
under existing circumstances. As the defeat of the con-
stitution involved the continuation of military rule, he said
he felt it to be his duty to call the attention of Congress to
the difficulty of finding competent persons to fill vacancies
in the state and local offices. He accordingly recommended
the modification of the act of July 19, 1867, so as to render
eligible to office persons who were qualified voters.1 The
election inspectors seem to have concurred in the view of
Gillem that there was as little fraud and intimidation as
could have been expected under the circumstances.2 The
announcement of the result was somewhat disconcerting to
the radicals. The prospect of being excluded from the offices
filled them with gloom. Without despairing, however, they
set to work to have the election declared a Republican
victory. The committee of five appointed by the convention
to ascertain the result and make proclamation thereof, now
called upon the commissioners whom they had appointed to
attend the polls, to make detailed reports of their observa-
tions. The committee, after investigating these reports,
announced that fraud had been practised in various counties.
A sub-committee was then appointed to confer with the com-
manding general and request him to make an investigation.
This he declined to do.3 The committee of five then deter-
mined to make the investigation for itself, and to withhold its
Eroclamation until the result was known. Without waiting,
owever, for the investigation, they made a long report to
the reconstruction committee two days before the election
registrars had completed their returns, with the intent, it was
1 Report of Secretary of War, p. 603.
2 One of the inspectors reported instances in which negroes were threat-
ened with the vengeance of the Kuklux and with discharge from employment
if they did not vote the Democratic ticket. On the other hand, he knew of
two well-authenticated cases of negroes who were threatened with being
taken to Vicksburg in irons, sent to Cuba and sold into slavery, should they
fail to vote the radical ticket. The men who made these threats stated that
they had "orders" from the headquarters of the fourth military district.
These influences deterred the negroes from voting, "bothered" them, as
they expressed it, so that not more than half the colored vote was cast.
3 General Gillem told the reconstruction committee at Washington that he
investigated all the reports of fraud that came to his notice, both before and
after the election, and that in each case he sent troops to the locality under
an officer with directions to make an investigation. H. Mis. Docs, supra,
p. 60.
218 BECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
charged, of forestalling Gillem's report. They charged that
threats and intimidations had been resorted to to such an
extent in some counties that election commissioners had
been unable to discharge their duties ; that in others, a reign
of terror was inaugurated for the purpose of deterring
colored men from voting ; that social proscription, threats
of discharge from employment, resolutions refusing to coun-
tenance in any manner those who voted for the Republican
ticket, and publishing the names of negro voters as enemies
to the white people of the state were some of the means used
by the Democrats to carry the election.
The committee asked leave to call attention to the fact
that in most of the counties of the state the offices were held
by " disloyal " persons, and Congress was memorialized to
afford " adequate relief " as soon as possible. The report
concluded with the announcement that prominent men would
visit Washington at the earliest possible moment to " confer
with the proper authorities in regard to the condition of our
state."
After making this report to Congress the committee
of five proceeded to make an elaborate investigation. It
had rooms at the Capitol, was supplied with stationery at
the expense of the state, and the members received $10
per day for their self-imposed services.1 The committee was
overwhelmed with communications and reports from disap-
pointed office seekers throughout the state, giving accounts
of fraud and outrage which were alleged to have come under
their observation. Hundreds of depositions, most of which
were signed with marks, were taken and are published as a
part of the documentary evidence on the subject.2 The com-
mittee sat with closed doors and took the testimony of a
large number of negroes who made their way to Jackson
from different parts of the adjacent country. The Demo-
crats were not permitted to take any part in the investiga-
tion, either to cross-examine witnesses or to offer testimony
in rebuttal.3 Ever since the defeat of the constitution,
1 General Gillem did not particularly fancy the idea of an investigation
by this committee. They had insisted upon having three commissioners of
their own appointment present at each polling place, and he had yielded to
their demands, although the reconstruction acts required that the election
should be conducted by officers or persons appointed by the commanding
general.
2 H. Mis. Docs, supra, pp. 136-299.
8 The chairman of the Democratic executive committee addressed a com-
munication to General Gillem suggesting that as a matter of obvious justice
and propriety the Democrats should have an opportunity of cross-examining
THE REJECTION OF THE CONSTITUTION 219
the radicals had entertained the hope that Congress would
afford them the "relief" asked for in their address of
July 8, by declaring the constitution ratified, spite of Gil-
lem's report to the contrary. For a number of days before
his report was made public, persons claiming to represent
the committee of five hung around the rooms of the recon-
struction committee at Washington, urging it to recom-
mend Congress to declare the constitution ratified. On
July 24, the House passed a bill to reassemble the con-
vention and frame a new constitution, but the Senate
rejected it.
After an investigation continuing through a period of
about four months, the chairman of the committee, on
November 3, issued a pompous proclamation from "the
rooms of the committee of five, of the Mississippi constitu-
tional convention," reciting at length the reconstruction
acts, the calling of the convention, and the adoption of the
ordinance providing for a committee, and concluded as fol-
lows : " Now, therefore, by virtue of the authority vested in
the said committee of five, I, as chairman of the said com-
mittee, after a careful examination of the reports made by
the commissioners appointed to hold said elections, and after
a patient and diligent investigation of the affidavits and state-
ments of many other citizens of the state in reference to the
conduct of said elections, do proclaim and declare the con-
stitution thus submitted to have been duly ratified and
adopted by a majority of the legal votes cast at said election,
and the Republican state ticket duly chosen and elected at
the same time ; and I do further declare that the elections
held in the counties of Copiah, Carroll, Chickasaw, De Soto,
Lafayette, Rankin, and Yallobusha, on account of threats,
intimidations, fraud, and violence practised in said counties,
to be illegal and void." He further declared that two of the
five Republican candidates for the Fortieth Congress had
been elected instead of one as returned by Gillem's registrars.
He even declared that five Republicans had been elected to
the Forty-first Congress, although it does not appear that
an election was held for the choice of members to that Con-
gress. He also declared and proclaimed that a large number
of Democratic senators and representatives, reported by Gen-
eral Gillem as having been elected, were chosen through
and producing witnesses on their own behalf. The general was urged to issue
an order so directing, but refused. The refusal of the committee to allow
Democrats to hear the testimony led to an altercation between the committee
and a party of whites.
220 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
fraud.1 The audacity of the proclamation shows the des-
peration to which they were reduced. There was not a
shadow of authority for the extraordinary action of the chair-
man. The proclamation had little effect, however, for it
remained with Congress to determine the status of Missis-
sippi. The rejection of the House bill of July 24, to reas-
semble the convention, did not dampen their ardor. A
movement for a state convention of Republicans to take
action on the subject was set on foot. It met at Jackson,
November 25, memorialized Congress to declare the consti-
tution ratified, drew up a long address with a statement of
some of the causes of their "present embarrassment," and
appealed to Congress for " speedy and permanent relief."
The address charged that since the suppression of the rebel-
lion a large class of people in Mississippi, in "defiance of
the authority and regardless of the wishes of Congress, had
rejected in contempt all terms of restoration, and had assumed
the right to dictate the terms under which they would con-
descend to be readmitted to the Union."
The address then took up the matter of the late election,
and declared that it had been carried by "bribery, threats,
misrepresentation, fraud, violence, and murder." By way
of criticism of General Gillem, the address declared that it
had been a cause of great embarrassment to the " loyal " peo-
ple of Mississippi that " disloyal " persons had been contin-
ued in office, and their opposition to reconstruction thereby
encouraged. The address concluded with a fervent appeal
to Congress to declare the constitution in force, and the
Republican ticket elected.
A committee of six persons from the state at large, and two
from each of the five congressional districts, was appointed
to proceed to Washington and lay before Congress the
address and urge the readmission of the state.2 This com-
mittee is commonly known as the committee of sixteen.3
In the meantime, the Republicans throughout the state were
1 The full text of the proclamation may be found in H. Mis. Docs, supra,
pp. 18, 19 ; also in the appendix to the Globe, 40th Cong. p. 259.
2 The address is printed in full in H. Mis. Docs. 3d Ses. 40th Cong. No. 53,
pp. 261-263. It is signed by R. W. Flourney, Alston Mygatt, George F.
Brown, W. H. Gibbs, G. W. Van Hook, T. W. Stringer.
8 The following are the names of the committee of sixteen. For the state
at large : R. W. Flourney, Jonathan Tarbell, A. Alderson, Alston Mygatt,
E. Stafford, and F. Hodges. First district, U. Ozanne, J. L. Alcorn ; second
district, W. W. Bell, J. G. Lyons ; third district, George F. Brown, G. W.
Van Hook ; fourth district, T. W. Stringer, H. W. Barry ; fifth district, E.
J. Castello, W. H. Gibbs.
THE REJECTION OF THE CONSTITUTION 221
holding mass meetings and local conventions, adopting reso-
lutions and addresses to Congress. Such a meeting was
held at Corinth, December 8, with Major Gillenwaters of the
United States army in the chair. Resolutions were adopted
declaring that, in view of the financial condition of the state,
and the " distraction " to the various industrial pursuits con-
sequent upon a heated political canvass, another election
would be detrimental to the peace and quiet of the state,
and should Congress refuse to readmit her, the best interests
of the people would be subserved by giving the state a pro-
visional government.1 The Republicans of Lauderdale
County held a mass meeting at Meridian, December 28, and
adopted similar resolutions. Congress was urged to readmit
the state and declare the Republican ticket elected.2 On the
following day, a meeting of the Washington County Repub-
licans was held at Greenville, and resolutions were adopted
appealing to Congress to admit the state to the Union in
accordance with the proclamation of the committee of five.3
The Republicans of Wilkinson County assembled at the Union
League hall at Woodville, January 2, and adopted resolu-
tions of the same tenor.4 On the 16th, the Scott County
Republicans assembled at Hillsboro, declared the late elec-
tion to be an " echo of terrorism " ; that even the soldiers
sent to their protection publicly expressed a desire to shoot
" radicals and negroes " ; and that the result was a wicked,
damnable fraud on the freedom of election, and this was
known by General Gillem.6 The Rankin County colored
Republicans recommended another constitutional conven-
tion. They expressed a desire to cultivate kind relations
with their white friends, invited the whites to join with
them in these sentiments, and announced their intention
to support capable and honorable men who were identified
with the country.6 Resolutions such as the foregoing
were adopted by Republican mass meetings in nearly
every county of the state. They were all published in
the Republican journals of the time, and copies trans-
mitted to the committee of sixteen at Washington, to
be in turn laid before the reconstruction committee of
Congress.
1 H. Mis. Docs, supra, p. 251. 8 Ibid. p. 253. * Ibid. p. 269.
2 Ibid. p. 252. * Ibid. p. 269. • Ibid. p. 234.
222 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
XI. THE MISSISSIPPI QUESTION IN CONGRESS
The struggle over the constitution was now transferred to
Washington. Shortly after the meeting of Congress in De-
cember, the committee of sixteen arrived on the scene, and
for many weeks badgered members of Congress, and urged
them to put no faith in Gillem's report, but to declare the
constitution ratified or to revive the convention. They went
individually before the reconstruction committee and gave
their testimony. The chairman of the committee of five
recited at length his conference with General Gillem, and
the latter's refusal to make an investigation ; affirmed that
the committee of five had a right to make arrangements for
holding the election, and to appoint commissioners to be
present at the polls ; and expressed his conviction that a large
number of the members elect of the legislature would not be
able to take the oath of office required by the reconstruction
acts. On December 16, ex-Governor Sharkey appeared before
the committee, and testified that, so far as he knew, the elec-
tion was conducted as fairly as any he had ever seen ; that
many of the negroes of the state voted voluntarily with the
Democrats ; that there was a state of good feeling between
the races; and that while the negroes demanded the right
of suffrage for themselves, they had no desire to deprive
white men of the right. It was his opinion that the
constitution was defeated fairly, and if another was sub-
mitted with the prescriptive clauses stricken out, it would
be ratified.
General Gillem testified as to the precautions he had taken
to insure a fair election, and declared that he had investi-
fated every report of fraud and intimidation brought to his
nowledge. In regard to the charge that sheriffs and sol-
diers had electioneered against the constitution, he informed
the committee that most of the sheriffs were loyal men ap-
pointed by himself and General Ord. As for the soldiers, he
said not twenty of them had been enlisted in the state, but
that they were Northern men. If, therefore, they voted
against the constitution, as they had a right to do, it af-
forded additional evidence of the obnoxious character of that
instrument. He gave it as his opinion that the defeat of the
constitution was due to its prescriptive character, as it was
unreasonable to suppose that men would vote to disfranchise
themselves, and if a constitution had been framed in accord-
ance with the reconstruction acts, it would have been adopted
THE MISSISSIPPI QUESTION IN CONGRESS 223
by a large majority. He denied emphatically that his ad-
ministration of affairs in Mississippi was animated by a spirit
of opposition to the reconstruction acts and the policy of
Congress, and claimed that the opposition to his course had
been confined to disaffected persons, who failed to get ap-
pointments, and others whom he had declined to allow to
enter upon the discharge of their official duties, because they
could not give the requisite bonds. Then there were others,
he said, whose schemes of plunder he had thwarted. These
persons found fault with his administration, and desired his
removal.
Another important witness before the reconstruction com-
mittee was Hon. J. W. C. Watson, an old-line Whig who had
canvassed the state against secession in 1860, but who, upon
the passage of the ordinance, could not persuade himself, as
he says, to go against his blood and kindred, and so went
earnestly into the contest on the side of the Confederacy, and
did all he could, consistently with the rules of civilized war-
fare and of Christianity, to advocate its cause. He was a
member of the Confederate senate from 1863 until the close
of the war, a member of the reconstruction conventions of
1865 and 1868, from which latter he resigned when it be-
came evident that the majority intended to frame a constitu-
tion, the effect of which would be to disfranchise the more
influential whites, and render them ineligible to office. When
the constitution was submitted to the people, he canvassed
the northern part of the state against it. He was satisfied
that had the convention gone no further than the require-
ments of Congress, the constitution would have been adopted
by a large majority. The white people of the state, he said,
were still opposed to negro suffrage, but with no further
disfranchising provisions than were actually required by Con-
gress, it would have been accepted.
On the 24th of March, the committee of sixteen called on
President Grant, congratulated him on his election, thanked
him for removing Gillem, and asked his influence in the
enactment of a bill to readmit the state in spite of the re-
jected constitution. The President told them that 'the mat-
ter was in the hands of Congress, but it appeared to him that
the most feasible way to settle the question was to resubmit
the constitution, in such a way as to enable the electors to
vote on the obnoxious clauses separately.1 While the radi-
cal Republicans were besieging the President and members of
1 The New York Herald of March 25, 1869, contains an account of the
interview between President Grant and the committee of sixteen.
224 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
Congress to have Gillem's election set aside, and themselves
installed into office, a committee of conservative Republicans
were bestirring themselves at Washington to defeat the policy
of the "Eggleston Clique." They styled themselves the
representatives of a " very large, respectable, and influential
portion of the Republican party," and in an address to the
reconstruction committee protested against the attempt of
the radicals to have the constitution forced upon the people
against their will. They recommended Congress to declare
all the offices vacant, provide for the appointment of a pro-
visional governor with power to fill the vacancies, divest the
constitution of its proscriptive features, and resubmit it to
the people for ratification.1
About the same time a committee of Democrats, among
whom were ex-Governor Brown and Judge Simrall, waited
upon the President and appealed to him to use his influence
with Congress to defeat the radical programme. The venerable
justice, who is one of the few survivors of those who were
prominently connected with the events above described, thus
speaks of his mission to Washington : " When we reached
Lynchburg, we learned from the papers that the reconstruc-
tion committee of the House would close its hearing that
day. We telegraphed the committee to hold the matter open
until we arrived. Our request was granted, and we had a
full and patient hearing by the committee. During our stay
in Washington, the senators and prominent members of the
House seemed anxious to confer with us at their houses.
We had no difficulty in discussing the matter with any we
desired to see. We had two interviews with General Grant:
first, at the war office, and afterward at the executive man-
sion at night, the latter meeting having been arranged by
Mr. Dent, the President's brother-in-law. At this interview,
several members of the committee of sixteen were present,
and at the President's suggestion, two on each side were
heard. General Grant gave no intimation by word or ex-
pression of countenance what impression had been made.
At its conclusion, the President took from a table a
printed copy of the constitution and referred to the sev-
eral clauses relating to the elective franchise and said, in
substance, that these proscriptive clauses should not be
there, that they would be a continual source of discord and
1 Some of the leaders of this party were A. Warner, A. C. Fiske, Judge
Jeffords, J. L. Wofford, and Frederic Speed. They were all Northern
men except one, and were more or less prominent in the politics of the
state.
THE MISSISSIPPI QUESTION IN CONGRESS 225
disorder, provocative of riots and bloodshed, perhaps, be-
tween the races.
" Turning his thoughts to the remedial aspect, he said, in
effect, that he had been down in Mississippi, and knew some-
thing of the conditions ; that the people were poor and had
not fully recovered from the effects of the war ; that he
could, through the commanding general, order the same
convention to reassemble, but they might not improve the
matter; or he could have another convention called, but
that would be expensive.
" Addressing himself to the governor and myself, he asked
how it would do to submit the constitution to another vote,
first striking out the objectionable clauses. Governor Brown
and I consulted, and replied that to us that seemed the short-
est way out of the trouble, and we believed it would be satis-
factory to our people. In a short time, the suggestion was
adopted by the government, and on the second vote these
clauses were, by a very large majority, stricken out. If
credit is due to any one, it is to President Grant, for the
result attained."
In the meantime, Congress was giving its attention to the
question of the status of Mississippi. Bills for the read-
mission of the state were successively introduced by Bing-
ham and Beck in the House, and Boutwell and Payne in the
Senate. Nothing however came of these efforts, and the
Fortieth Congress ended March 4, 1869, with the question
still unsettled.1 The matter was at once taken up by the
Forty-first Congress, which assembled early after the adjourn-
ment of the Congress.
On the 19th of March, Mr. Butler introduced a bill to pro-
vide for the organization of a provisional government for
Mississippi. On the 24th, the chairman of the committee on
reconstruction, who happened to be Mr. Butler, reported
back his bill with the recommendation that it pass. The
bill provided that for the "better security of persons and
property in Mississippi," the convention should be authorized
to forthwith assemble upon the call of the president thereof,
and upon his failure to make the call within thirty 'days, the
commanding general should be authorized and required to
do so.2 The reassembled convention was to have power to
1 See Globe, 2d Ses. 40th Cong. pp. 1143, 1227.
2 Appendix to Globe, 1st Ses. 41st Cong. p. 74. The president of the con-
vention was at that moment in the lobby endeavoring to have the constitution
declared in force. There was not the remotest probability that he would
refuse to call the convention together. He would have been only too glad for
an opportunity do so.
226 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
appoint a provisional governor, and to remove and appoint
registrars and judges of election.1 The constitution thus
framed was to be submitted to the people within ninety days
after the adjournment of the convention.2 Mr. Beck, a Demo-
cratic member of the reconstruction committee, and the leader
of the opposition, at once took the floor and proposed an
amendment to the Butler bill, vesting the appointment of the
provisional governor in the President of the United States,
instead of in the convention. General Butler, in a set speech
on the 24th of March, defended his bill, and explained its
meaning section by section.3 Beck replied to him on the
same day, pointing out in his speech the objections to the bill,
and defending his own amendment. He wished the power
to appoint a provisional governor vested in the President,
because he said he had infinitely more confidence in him
than he had in the convention, believing that the President
would use his power to secure a free and fair election,
whereas he knew the convention would not permit either.
Discussion of the Butler bill continued through several days.
On the 31st, Mr. Farns worth of Illinois offerecj a substitute,
providing that the commanding general should be empowered
to submit the constitution again to the qualified voters, and
that the objectionable clauses should be submitted separately,
and if defeated, they should be stricken out of the constitu-
tion. Another feature of the substitute provided that the
sections relating to the appointment of chancellors and judges
should be so changed as to require those officers to be elected
by the people.4
Mr. Farnsworth followed up his substitute with a speech
in defence of the same. It seemed to find favor with mem-
bers, and was, no doubt, a better measure than the Butler
bill. Discussion on the measure continued off and on for
several weeks. On March 31, Mr. Dawes of Massachusetts
spoke at length in favor of postponing further consideration
1 Dawes, Butler's colleague, in speaking of this bill, said he would as soon
leave the choice of the warden of the state prison at Charlestown to the con-
victs themselves as to leave the choice of a provisional governor to the Missis-
sippi reconstruction convention. Globe, 1st Ses. 41st Cong. p. 14 (Appendix).
2 Ibid. p. 253.
3 General Butler said Egglestonhad accepted the surrender of Atlanta, and
he would accept the surrender of Mississippi if he was appointed provisional
governor. He frankly admitted that "good politics" required compliance
with the schemes of the radicals. He said : " Now if you do not reconstruct
Mississippi, you cannot get a loyal legislature [and consequently two ' loyal '
senators] ; you cannot pass the Fifteenth Amendment, and with it you lose
half a dozen Northern states." Ibid. pp. 16, 17.
* Globe, ibid. 398.
THE MISSISSIPPI QUESTION IN CONGRESS 227
of the Mississippi question until the next session, on the
ground that life and property would be safer in the state the
longer it remained under military rule.1
On the 1st of April, further consideration of the bill was
postponed until the first Monday of December.2 On April 8,
1869, General Butler reported from the committee on recon-
struction a bill modelled after Farnsworth's substitute. It
authorized the President of the United States, at such time
as he might deem best for the public interest, to submit the
constitutions of Mississippi, Virginia, and Texas to a vote of
the people, and at the same time submit to a separate vote
such provisions as he might choose. In the event of ratifi-
cation, the legislature was required to assemble at the Capi-
tol on the fourth Tuesday after the official promulgation of
such ratification. The commanding general was empowered
to suspend. all laws that he might deem unjust and oppres-
sive to the people, this power to be subject to the approval of
the President, and to terminate upon the assembling of the
legislature.3 This last provision was directed principally
against the poll-tax law in Mississippi, and several laws con-
cerning the collection of debts, which laws, the Republicans
alleged, were unjust and oppressive. Mr. Paine objected to
the bill, which authorized the President to submit the con-
stitution to the voters, and at the same time submit separately
the obnoxious clauses. He therefore offered a substitute, au-
thorizing the President to submit the constitution, in the first
place, as a whole, and then submit it with the objectionable
provisions stricken out.4 The same day the bill passed the
House by a yea and nay vote of 125 to 25.5 It was immedi-
ately sent to the Senate, where it was read twice, and ordered
printed without reference to a committee. The following
morning the bill was called up and read, when Mr. Morton
offered an additional section, providing that before the states
in question should be admitted to representation in Congress,
their several legislatures should be required to ratify the
Fifteenth Amendment.6 This section became the subject of
an animated discussion, and was opposed by Republicans and
Democrats alike. Senator Trumbull declared that in* impos-
ing this new condition, the government was breaking faith
with those states, inasmuch as Congress had already given its
solemn pledge that they should be readmitted upon the per-
formance of certain conditions. He desired to know of
1 Globe, 1st Ses. 41st Cong. p. 408. « Ibid. p. 633. 5 Ibid. p. 636.
2 Ibid. p. 437. * Ibid. p. 634. • Ibid. p. 653.
228 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
senators when this thing of imposing conditions upon the
late insurrectionary states was to end. " Suppose," said he,
" they comply with this requirement, then are they to be told
at a subsequent session of Congress that there is something
else to be done before they can be admitted to representa-
tion." Morton was urged not to press his amendment, as it
was unnecessary, and might lead to a protracted debate and
delay their contemplated adjournment on the following day.
The Indiana senator said he regarded the amendment as
being of the utmost importance, and would rather see the
bill fail than to have it pass without the additional section.1
After a short but spirited debate, Morton's amendment
passed the Senate by a yea and nay vote of 30 to 20.2 The
bill with the Morton amendment, together with several
unimportant verbal amendments, passed the Senate by a vote
of 49 to 9. Later, on the same day, the House, under a sus-
pension of the rules, concurred in the amendments of the
Senate, after which it adjourned, leaving the Mississippi
question in the hands of the President and the people of
the state.
XII. MILITARY GOVERNMENT UNDER GENERAL AMES
On the 4th of March, 1869, the man who had placed Gen-
eral Gillem in command of Mississippi, and who had sustained
him in his opposition to the policy of the radicals, passed
from the presidency to private life. On the following day,
the order went forth for Gillem's removal. This was the
first victory of the committee of sixteen. There was a gen-
eral manifestation of regret by the whites over the removal
of General Gillem, and it was openly declared that the rea-
son for the President's action was the incapacity of the gen-
eral to serve political ends. However this may be, it was
certainly unfortunate for the political repose of the state.3
1 Globe, p. 664.
2 Ibid. p. 656.
8 Ex-United States Senator Fowler, in an unpublished memoir of General
Gillem, says he not only possessed high qualities as a soldier, but also ele-
ments of statesmanship ; that he always deprecated the invasion of the civil
power by the military, never forgetting that he had risen from the ranks of
the people, and must confide the destiny of his children to their hands ; that
his work in Mississippi was greatly complicated by the errors of a predecessor,
and that the material interests of the state and the general tone of society
assumed an improved aspect after he became commander. He subsequently
served as commander of the Department of California, took part in the
Modoc War, and died hi 1875.
MILITARY GOVERNMENT UNDER GENERAL AMES 229
General Gillem's successor in Mississippi was General Adel-
bert Ames, who, it will be remembered, had been acting-civil
governor since July 15, 1868, by appointment from General
McDowell. General Ames was a native of Maine and a
graduate of West Point. He was brevetted major general
for gallantry and meritorious conduct in the Civil War, and
in 1868 was sent to Mississippi with the rank of lieutenant
colonel in the Twenty-fourth Infantry. He was but thirty-
three years of age when he became provisional governor, had
never held a civil office, and was without training in the
civil law. His administration as provisional governor seems
to have been characterized by moderation and tact. His
appointment, therefore, as district commander was favorably
received. The Hinds County Gazette extended him a " cor-
dial welcome," and promised to " most gladly support him
in every honest effort to give a good administration."
Barksdale of the Clarion, who had better opportunities for
knowing him, said : " The appointment should be acceptable
to the people. In the discharge of the duties of provisional
governor, General Ames has commanded the respect and won
the esteem of all classes." l The new commander assumed
control by issuing the following brief order : —
HEADQUARTERS 4-TH MILITARY DISTRICT,
VICKSBURG, March 17, 1869.
GENERAL ORDERS)
No. 14. |
In compliance with paragraph No. 55, current
series, headquarters of the army, adjutant general's office, the
undersigned hereby assumes command of the 4th Military District.
ADELBERT AMES,
Brevet Maj. Gen. U.S.A.
Shortly after assuming command, the headquarters of the
district were removed from Vicksburg to Jackson for his
convenience as provisional governor. In the two capacities
of civil governor and military commander, there were few
limitations upon his power. According to his own testi-
mony, his power as military governor gave him supremacy
in Mississippi, and he allowed no law to stand in his
way when he felt that it was a hindrance to the execution
of his policy.2 His authority embraced the whole municipal
1 Clarion of March 11, 1869.
2 Boutwell Report on Miss. Elections, 1876, p. 17.
230 BECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
power of the state. It included the rights of person and
property, the assessment and collection and disbursement of
taxes, the apportionment of representatives in the legislature,
and the control of elections through the appointment of reg-
istrars, judges, and inspectors, and by prescribing the time,
place, and manner of holding them. At the time he assumed
command, there were about one thousand troops in the state.1
These were employed, he says, for ordinary routine duty,
and in making expeditions for the purpose of "arresting
lawless characters guilty of murder or other serious offences."
He reported that a few men, " supported by public opinion,"
committed murders and outrages, and the civil authorities
were unequal to the task of bringing them to justice ; that
neither injured parties nor their friends often undertook to
aid the civil or military authorities, and if so, with reluctance;
and that offenders were often secretly concealed or otherwise
shielded by the people.2 His charge that public sentiment
supported criminals in their lawlessness was repelled by the
press as a base "calumny upon the fair name of the state."
His report was the subject of much unfavorable comment,
and cost him not a little of the confidence and respect which
he at first enjoyed.
The removal of Gillem was not the only victory scored by
the committee of sixteen. It will be remembered that they
had represented to Congress that all the offices in the state
were in the hands of rebels and disloyal persons. Congress
was therefore urged to declare all offices vacant, and order
them filled with "loyal" men. A joint resolution was ac-
cordingly adopted, declaring that all persons holding office
in Mississippi, who could not take and subscribe to the oath
of July 2, 1862, should be removed, and the vacancies filled
by the district commander with persons who were able to take
the oath. This practically vacated all the civil offices in
the state, for not one in a hundred of the incumbents could
take the oath required. The resolution went into effect
February 16, 1869, and was not to apply to those whose dis-
abilities had been removed by Congress. On the 23d, a gen-
1 The following exhibit shows the strength and distribution of the military
force of the state during his administration : —
POST. STRENGTH. POST. STRENGTH.
Ship Island 280 men Natchez 59 men
Jackson 209 " Lauderdale 60 "
Grenada 173 " Corinth 86 "
Vicksburg 129 "
— Report Secretary of War, 1869, p. 160. 3 Ibid. p. 99.
MILITARY GOVERNMENT UNDER GENERAL AMES 231
eral order to carry into effect the joint resolution was issued
by the commanding general. The order declared that all
incumbents whose disabilities had not been removed, and
who had not qualified under appointment from headquarters
were directed to take and subscribe to the oath at once, and
forward the same to headquarters. Those who could not
take the oath were directed to retain custody of all books,
papers, and other property belonging to their respective
offices, and transfer them to their successors when they had
qualified and were ready to enter upon the discharge of their
duties. The work of turning out the " rebels " now began
in earnest. Nearly every civil officer in the state, from gov-
ernor down to the pettiest constable, was removed. Three
days after the promulgation of the general order mentioned
above, General Ames made his first batch of appointments.1
General Ames's order book shows that scarcely a day passed
during the remainder of his term on which a special order
was not issued removing certain persons from office, and
appointing their successors. He removed nearly all the
state officers, and hundreds of county and local officers. At
the same time he appointed 60 sheriffs, 72 circuit and pro-
bate judges, 3 judges of the criminal court, 16 prosecuting
attorneys, 70 county treasurers, 120 circuit and probate
clerks, 60 county assessors, 50 mayors, 220 aldermen, 385
justices of the peace, 165 constables, 370 members of the
board of police, 40 coroners, 20 surveyors, 25 city marshals,
more than 300 election registrars, and a large number of
minor officials, such as school commissioners, city collectors,
superintendents of the poor, county attorneys, trustees of
state institutions, etc.2 All appointees were required to fur-
nish the proper bonds and take and subscribe to the iron-clad
1 Special Orders, No. 59, dated March 26. By this order the state treas-
urer, Mr. Echols, was removed, and Captain Myers of the ordnance depart-
ment of the army was detailed to perform the duties of the office. By the
same order, the probate judges of Madison and Scott counties were removed,
and two Northern men appointed to succeed them. A Northern man was
appointed circuit clerk of Madison, and two Northern men were appointed
sheriffs of Lowndes and Yazoo counties.
2 These statistics are tabulated from a printed volume entitled, Special
Orders of the Fourth Military District, which General Ames kindly placed
in my hands. It contains 283 special orders, being all that were issued from
Jan. 2 to Dec. 31, 1869. The majority of them relate to the removal and
appointment of officers. The others relate to special duties of army officers,
boards of survey, trial of offences by court martial and military commis-
sions, movements of troops, registration of voters, and management of elec-
tions. Of the orders in this volume General Gillein issued fifty, General
Ames the others.
232 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
oath, and forward a copy to the acting assistant adjutant
general at headquarters. They were then furnished with
written authority by the commanding general to enter upon
the discharge of their duties. As few of the native whites
of respectability could take the oath, General Ames found it
next to impossible to get competent persons to fill the offices.
Being a stranger in the state, he was compelled to follow the
recommendations of those who, doubtless, deceived him in
many instances. He says he did the best he could under the
circumstances. He was charged by Congress with appoint-
ing only persons who could take the iron-clad oath, and if
there were few respectable whites who could do it, making it
necessary, therefore, to appoint f reedmen and white strangers
from the North, the blame should properly attach to Con-
gress and not to him. No man unaccustomed to civil pur-
suits, and unacquainted in the state, could have selected two
thousand honest and competent officials out of a body of citi-
zens from which the more intelligent and influential were
excluded. Some of the Northern men appointed by General
Ames were competent and worthy officials. That they were
not always cordially received in the communities to which
they were sent was due chiefly to the Anglo-Saxon instinct
for home rule. The action of Congress in handing the local
governments over to the former slaves of the whites, together
with a few strangers from other parts of the country, may have
been necessary to the congressional policy of reconstruction,
but it certainly complicated the problem by increasing the
animosities and passions of the time, inflicting corrupt and
expensive government upon the inhabitants, and producing
other causes which resulted in persecution, fraudulent elec-
tions, and finally revolution.1
The course of General Ames in reconstructing the official
organization with only those who were known to be his politi-
cal supporters was the subject of loud protest. He did not
scruple to remove the " loyal " appointees of Gillem and Ord,
when it became known that they were not his supporters.
The removal of the sheriffs of De Soto, Claiborne, Clay,
Calhoun, and Hinds counties were cases in point. In some
1 Of the twenty-five appointees of General Ames who subsequently became
the most prominent Republican politicians in the state, not one had ever held
office there before, eight were colored, while all of the white appointees except
four were Northern men who had come to the state since the war. One of
these appointees became governor, one United States Senator, one lieutenant
governor, two justices of the Supreme Court, two representatives in Congress,
one attorney general, while the others were judges, sheriffs, members of the
legislature, and county officers.
MILITARY GOVERNMENT UNDER GENERAL AMES 233
of these instances, the new appointees had never been in the
counties to which they were sent, and made their bonds in
other parts of the state. In another instance, he removed a
justice of the Supreme Court whom he had four months before
recommended to the President for appointment as United
States district judge. It was alleged that the judge in ques-
tion had ceased to be a party adherent of the commanding
general. He summarily dismissed the state printers who had
been elected by the legislature, and appointed in their stead
the editor of a Republican sheet lately established. None of
his removals, it was said, showed so much the prejudices of
the commander as his dismissal of a highly respected Presby-
terian minister from the governing board of the asylum for
the blind. The same was said of the removal of a promi-
nent banker from the board of directors of the Illinois Cen-
tral railroad. The United States attorney for the Southern
district resigned his position, and gave his reason in a published
address that he was unwilling to be identified with an admin-
istration "whose acts in Mississippi he could not approve."
The officer in question was a Northern man, and one of the
founders of the Republican party in Mississippi.1 The Pilot,
the organ of the Republican party, said, that General Ames
had made mistakes in some of his appointments was appar-
ent, but that he would in due time rectify them. But what
called forth greater criticism was his apparent disposition to
shield such of his appointees as turned out to be dishonest in
their official relations. Thus his appointees to the offices of
probate judge and sheriff in Rankin County were convicted
of official crimes and sent to jail. The commanding General
is said to have sent over a detachment of troops, which
forcibly opened the jail, took the prisoners out, and a soldier
with musket in hand escorted the judge to the court house,
and opened and adjourned the court. The offenders were
then given an opportunity to leave the state, which they lost
no time in making use of.2
Complaints were loud among the whites that General Ames
went to an unreasonable extent in his interference with the free-
dom of the citizens and with the actions of the civil authorities.
Professor Highgate, a negro teacher in Madison County, and
1 Clarion, Aug. 17, 1869. In a letter to the President, he said General
Ames's course had been marked by a "tyrannical exercise of power utterly
antagonistic to the reconstruction acts." "I should be false to the party if I
longer retained the office to which you have appointed me."
2 Jackson Clarion, Oct. 9, 1873. See also Lowry and McCardle's History
of Mississippi, p. 382.
234 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
an ex-Union soldier, presumed to criticise somewhat severely
the conduct of the military authorities in the Rankin County
affair already described. For this he was arrested and made
to stand on a barrel with his hands tied behind him and
his mouth gagged from 9 A.M. to 4 P.M.1 By the com-
mander's direction, twenty-five or thirty white men in Copiah
County were somewhat arbitrarily arrested and imprisoned,
for political purposes, it was charged.2 Two tax collec-
tors in Choctaw County were " arbitrarily " dealt with, and
an official in Yallobusha was arrested and imprisoned " with-
out authority of law." 3 Commanders of posts at Jackson,
Vicksburg, Corinth, Natchez, Lauderdale, and Grenada were
forbidden to obey any writ of habeas corpus issued by a
Federal court for the release of prisoners in their custody,
the purpose being to prevent the testing of the legality of
arbitrary arrests by the military authorities. The Clarion
of August 24 called it a " high-handed measure," and
said it was evidence of the " malignant and despotic tem-
per " with which they were ruled in time of peace. The
legislature had made liberal provision for supplying maimed
Confederate soldiers with artificial limbs, and had exempted
such persons from the payment of a poll tax. By a general
order of April 14, General Ames forbade the further use
of money for this purpose, and directed that the poll-tax law
should be applied to disabled Confederates the same as to
other persons. He ordered furthermore that the poll tax
should be reduced in amount on account of its alleged
oppressiveness to the non-property-holding class.4 One of
the most important enactments of General Ames was an
order, of April 29, 1869, declaring freedmen to be competent
jurors.5 There was of course a great outcry against the
order, quite as much as against the admission of negro testi-
mony to the courts, but, as the Clarion said, nobody was
surprised. The Clarion advised its readers to take a " practi-
cal view of it, and treat it as they would any other matter of
1 Highgate's affidavit setting forth these facts is published in the Clarion
of Aug. 31, 1869.
2 Lowry and McCardle, History of Mississippi, p. 382.
8 Clarion, Oct. 9, 1873.
4 Relative to this order the Aberdeen Examiner said: "No one blames
General Ames for his late order, as it reduces the poll tax from $4 to $1.50 ;
for though it was the only tax collected from the mass of the freedmen, it was
exorbitant, and the boy of twenty-one who owned nothing save the scanty
suit that defended him from the blast was mulcted in as large an amount for
the benefit of the revenue as the man of fifty-five with his section of fraudu-
lently assessed land."
6 Report Secretary of War, 1869-1870, p. 100.
MILITARY GOVERNMENT UNDER GENERAL AMES 235
concern." While the editor regretted that persons so incom-
petent as the freedmen were to try issues involving life,
liberty, and property, he was satisfied that the white citizens
infinitely preferred service with them to association with the
lower class of " carpet baggers " who had been appointed of
late.1 The state Democratic executive committee urged every
white man who was summoned to do jury duty to be care-
ful to attend, without fail, and " aid the inexperienced to dis-
charge the new trusts confided to them." 2 For this act, and
others of a similar kind, General Ames says the colored peo-
ple sent him to the United States Senate.3
There being no legislature to provide for the support of
the state institutions, General Ames by military order appro-
priated various sums for this purpose.4 Other orders were
issued for extending the time allowed by law for tax asses-
sors to complete and deliver their rolls ; 5 for extending the
time of collection by distress and sale of personal property
in a number of counties ; 6 for extending the time allowed by
law for tax collectors to make their settlements with the
auditor ; for constituting courts martial ; for constituting
military commissions ; for setting aside injunctions and
other processes of the civil courts ; 7 for annulling the pro-
ceedings of a magistrate's court and ordering a new trial be-
fore the county judge ; for directing the circuit court of
Clarke County to dismiss a case pending before it, and pro-
hibiting the said court from entertaining jurisdiction of it in
the future ; for directing that all proceedings in the circuit
court of Lauderdale County in the case of the Selma and
1 Issue of April 29, 1869. 2 Ibid.
8 u In order that the whites should know that colored men were not slaves,
and in recognition of their loyalty, I gave them office and put them in the
jury box, and relieved them from unjust and oppressive legislation of their
masters, for which a successful and grateful party sent me to the senate."
Speech of General Ames on the Enforcement Act, U.S. Senate, May 20,
1872. Globe, 42d Cong. 1st Ses. p. 520.
* On the 1st of March, he directed that $10,000 be drawn from the treas-
ury for the support of the Lunatic Asylum ; $10,000 on May 4 ; $10,000 on
June 22 ; $10,000 on August 25 ; and $10,000 on December 7. May 25,
$1200 was thus appropriated for repairs on the Asylum for the Blind.
6 The beneficiaries of this order were the assessors in fourteen counties
only.
6 Twenty in all.
7 By Special Order No. 232, dated Nov. 1, 1869, an injunction granted by
Judge James M. Smiley of the Chancery Court of Claiborne County restraining
the board of aldermen of Port Gibson from carrying into effect an ordinance
creating the office of city weigher, was set aside. By Special Order No. 1, of
Jan. 3, 1870, an injunction issued by the circuit court of Marshall County
to restrain a certain individual from keeping a feed and sale stable on the
public square of Holly Springs, was likewise set aside.
236
RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
Meridian Railroad Company be vacated, that the sheriff be
directed to release all rolling stock held by virtue of any
process of said court, and that the said property be exempted
from seizure by virtue of any authority from the courts of
Mississippi. *
Although General Ames interfered more or less with the
civil authorities, he seems to have left the courts to exercise
jurisdiction over criminal offences, except crimes against
freedmen and Union men. The following is a list of the cases
tried by military commissions during his administration : —
OFFENCE CHARGED.
WHERE COMMITTED.
P0NI8HMENT.
Killing of a freedman
Arson and larceny
Murder of a freedman
Murder of a freedman
Conspiracy to murder a
teacher ....
Killing of two mules .
Robbery and assault .
Carrying pistol and re
sisting military officer
Forgery
Newton County
Newton County
Warren County
Warren County
Adams County
Claiborne County
Claiborne County
Lee County
Lee County
Acquitted.
Acquitted.
Acquitted.
Acquitted.
One year's imprisonment.
Acquitted.
Ten years' imprisonment
(two negroes).
Acquitted.
Two years' imprisonment
Assault on U. S. soldier .
Marshall County
Two years' imprisonment.
The most notable of these cases was the alleged conspir-
acy of four young men in Adams County to murder the
teacher of a negro school. They were charged with taking
him from his house and demanding the revelation of the
password to the Loyal League. Upon his release they mal-
treated him somewhat barbarously. Under the state law,
this offence was only a misdemeanor, and was not punish-
able by imprisonment in the penitentiary. Their counsel,
Judge Simrall, sued out a writ of habeas corpus before the
United States district judge, and based his argument for
their discharge on the ground that the reconstruction acts
did not repeal the state laws, and that the military tri-
bunals were only substitutes for the state courts, and could
not improvise a penalty as could a court martial. The judge
agreed with him, and discharged the prisoners. The mili-
tary authorities obeyed the mandate, and discharged the
prisoners from custody. The military authorities thereafter
invariably conformed to that interpretation of the acts of
Congress.
PARTY POLITICS IN 1869 237
XIII. PARTY POLITICS IN 1869. THE CONSTITUTION
RATIFIED
On the 13th of July, 1869, President Grant issued a proc-
lamation designating Tuesday, November 30, as the day on
which the constitution should be resubmitted to the electo-
rate.
He directed that the three prescriptive clauses, together
with the provision forbidding the loaning of the state's credit,
should each be submitted to a separate vote. Each voter
who favored the ratification of the constitution without the
above provisions was directed to indicate his will by voting
" for " the constitution. Those who favored the rejection of
the constitution were directed to vote "against" it. Each
voter was also allowed to cast a separate ballot for or against
the objectionable provisions.1 Soon after the publication of
the proclamation, preparations for the campaign began. The
white Republicans were still divided into a conservative and
a radical wing, the negroes for the most part affiliating with
the radical contingent. The conservatives made the first
move. Early in June a circular was sent to prominent poli-
ticians in various parts of the state, who were known to be
in sympathy with the conservative movement, inviting them
to meet at Jackson on the 23d for the purpose of " taking
steps to promote the general interests of the state." Those
who signed the call had been conspicuous in the opposition to
the committee of sixteen, and they styled themselves " Mem-
bers of the National Union Republican party of Mississippi."
In their address they said : " Believing that our state should
be reconstructed in accordance with the acts of Congress
and the principles enunciated by General Grant, and that
toleration, liberality, and forbearance will command respect,
inspire confidence, restore harmony, and bring peace and
prosperity, we ask the aid of every patriotic citizen in the
state, be he white or black, high or low." The proposed
convention of conservatives met at Jackson pursuant to the
call, and was presided over by Mr. Wofford, an ex-Confed-
erate soldier, but a Republican in politics, and at the time
editor of a Republican paper published at Corinth. The
convention made ready for the coming campaign by the
appointment of a state executive committee, and the adop-
tion of a platform of principles, but adjourned without mak-
1 Richardson, Messages and Papers, Vol. VII. pp. 16, 17.
238 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
ing any nominations. Their platform expressed "unfalter-
ing devotion " to the National Union Republican party, and
declared that the failure of the reconstruction convention
by its proscriptive measures to restore the state to the
Union had rendered its supporters unworthy of the re-
spect and confidence of the voters of Mississippi. The
conservatives endorsed the Fifteenth Amendment, depre-
cated all attempts to impose further disabilities than the
Constitution and laws of the United States required,
and voted a resolution of thanks to the President and
Congress for rejecting the constitution. The executive
committee was authorized to issue an address to the peo-
ple declaratory of the principles of the new party, and to
issue a call for a state convention to nominate candidates
for office.
The radical Republicans held their first state convention
on July 2, and adopted a platform of seventeen resolutions
in which they likewise expressed " unfaltering devotion " to
the National Union Republican party with which they pro-
fessed to be in full sympathy ; declared in favor of an impar-
tial and economical administration of the government ; full
and unrestricted right of speech to all men at all times and
places ; unrestrained freedom of the ballot ; a system of free
schools ; a reform of the " iniquitous and unequal " system
of taxation and assessments which discriminated against
labor ; declared that all men without regard to race, color,
or previous condition of servitude were equal before the law ;
recommended a removal of political disabilities as soon as
the "spirit of toleration now dawning upon the state " should
be so firmly established as to justify Congress in taking such
action; declared in favor of universal amnesty, universal suff-
rage, and encouragement of immigration ; endorsed the
administration of President Grant ; expressed confidence in
and admiration for General Ames, and eulogized Congress
as the assembled wisdom and expressed will of the nation.
This convention, like that of the conservatives, organized
the party for the approaching election, and adjourned with-
out nominating a state ticket.
It now remained to see what action the regular democracy
would take. It was apparent from the outset that there was
little hope of success for them, especially if they entered the
contest under the name and banner of the regular party.
A movement was therefore inaugurated for the organization
of a conservative party, which, though opposed to the policy
of the radicals, was in favor of ratifying the constitution
PARTY POLITICS IN 1869 239
minus the so-called prescriptive provisions. Ex-Governor
Brown, in a letter to the Clarion of April 22, outlined a
policy which was favorably discussed by several leading
newspapers, and was endorsed by mass meetings of conserva-
tives in different parts of the state. He proposed an accept-
ance of the Fifteenth Amendment ; a guarantee of the civil
and political rights of the freedmen ; no " partisan " opposi-
tion to the administration of General Grant ; " hostility to
men who had come to the state for the purpose of making
mischief, and hearty good will to all who came in good faith
to share the fortunes of the Southern people." His platform
had much in common with that of the conservative Republi-
cans, and soon negotiations were entered into for a union of
the two parties on the basis of a common opposition to the
radicals. The conservative Democrats signified their will-
ingness to support acceptable candidates of the National Un-
ion Republican party. Early in May, the conservative press
of both parties brought forward the name of Judge Louis
Dent, a brother-in-law of General Grant, as a suitable can-
didate to head the state ticket against the radicals. Judge
Dent was not an absolute stranger to the people of the state,
having been a government lessee of " abandoned " land in
Coahoma County during the later years of the war, and, in
fact, was a resident of the county at the time of the election
of General Grant to the presidency. Upon the inauguration
of the President, he was invited to make his home at the
White House, where he was living at the time his name was
suggested for the governorship.1 His chief claim upon the
democracy of Mississippi was the use of his influence with
the President against the schemes of the committee of six-
teen during its sojourn at Washington.
Soon after the adjournment of the National Union Repub-
lican convention in June, certain members of the executive
committee proceeded to Washington to get the formal per-
mission of Judge Dent to use his name before the nominat-
ing convention in September. He expressed entire approval
of the platform, and readily gave the desired permission.2
1 Judge Dent was born in St. Louis, emigrated to California with General
Kearney in 1846, and there married a daughter of Judge Baine, late of
Grenada, Mississippi. He practised law in Sacramento and San Francisco,
was an unsuccessful candidate for Congress, and a member of the first con-
stitutional convention of California. Two of his uncles, Benjamin and
George, had lived in Mississippi during the territorial period.
2 The following is a copy of Judge Dent's letter : —
WASHINGTON, D.C., July 9, 1869.
GENTLEMEN : Your communication of this date requesting permission to
place my name before the National Union Republican Party is at hand. In
240 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
The proposed nomination of Judge Dent met with favor among
the conservatives of both parties. The Clarion of August 5
published an address signed by more than one hundred
prominent Democrats, calling upon the people to support the
ticket of the National Union Republican party as the only
means of defeating the radicals. The same paper of August
7 gave the names of thirty-three newspapers favoring the
"conservative movement." It was agreed, therefore, among
the leaders of the Democratic party not to put out a ticket,
but to support Judge Dent.
They issued an address declaring that the adoption of the
constitution was not an issue, the only question being as to
the character of the candidates. The present basis of recon-
struction was, they said, as fair as could be hoped for.
The address called attention to the advantages of being
again admitted to the Union, and thus putting an end to the
" gigantic military despotism with its terrible humiliations
and oppressions, under which they had so long languished
and suffered." "With readmission to the Union," they
said, "the blessings of peace and civil government would
return, and capital and labor would flow into the state."
The address concluded, " No true Mississippian, worthy of
that honor and name, can think for a moment of adhering
to the radical party as it exists in the state of Mississippi.
From them we have received nothing but cruel tyranny,
unjust persecution, and a degree of oppression unequalled in
the sad history of conquered nations." The question of
calling a state convention to nominate a regular ticket was
carefully discussed by the state executive committee. On
September 9 the committee announced that it was inexpedi-
ent to nominate a state ticket. The people were urged to
meet in county conventions, organize a Dent party, nominate
candidates for the legislature, and enter upon the campaign
at once. There were many Democrats, however, who were
unwilling to sacrifice their party name, and in a measure
their political principles, by supporting for governor a man
reply, I beg to assure you that if I can in the least be instrumental in restor-
ing the state of my adoption to her normal place in the Union and securing to
her a good local administration, you have permission to use my name for any
position within the gift of the National Union Republican Party of your state.
With great respect, I have the honor to be your obedient servant,
Louis DENT.
The platform adopted at your convention at Jackson on the 23d of June
last I most heartily approve and endorse.
To MESSRS. J. L. WOFFORD,
EDW. A. JENCKS,
WlLLARDS.
PARTY POLITICS IN 1869 241
who was not a bona fide citizen of the state, and whose
politics were scarcely known to the people.
In response to a call issued by several Democratic news-
papers that were opposed to the " Dent Movement," a con-
vention attended by a small number of delegates was held at
Canton, October 20. They adopted resolutions declaring that
the Democratic party would retain its organization intact,
that it had not been, nor could by any competent authority
be committed to the support of either wing of the Republican
party ; that they had no advice to offer to the people of
Mississippi as to the course proper for them to pursue in the
present contest, but as for themselves, they proposed to
remain firm in their devotion to the great doctrine of state
rights, and leave the responsibility for the establishment of
a Republican party in Mississippi to rest where it properly
belonged. The convention further resolved that in view of
the dissensions existing among the people, a result due to
the " manoevures " of politicians, it was deemed inexpedient
for the Democratic party to put a state ticket in the field
during the present campaign.
The chief purpose, of course, in nominating the brother-
in-law of the President was to get the support of the national
administration. At the time Judge Dent's name was proposed,
no one doubted that the President would lend his support to
the conservative party whose policy he had seemed to favor
on the "Mississippi question." The Clarion of August 10
announced that the President "unquestionably desired the
success of the Dent ticket, though delicacy forbade his active
interference." A few days later the publication of the fol-
lowing letter destroyed the hopes of the conservatives : —
LONG BRANCH, Aug. 1, 1869.
DEAR JUDGE : I am thoroughly satisfied in my own mind
that the success of the so-called Conservative Republican party in
Mississippi would result in the defeat of what I believe to be the
best interests of the state and country, that I have determined to
say so to you (in writing of course). I know or believe that your
intentions are good in accepting the nomination of the conserva-
tive party. I would regret to see you run for an office and be
defeated by my act ; but as matters look now, I must throw the
weight of my influence in favor of the party opposed to you. I
earnestly hope that before the election there will be such conces-
sions on either side in Mississippi as to unite all true supporters
of the administration in support of one ticket. ... I write this
solely that you may not be under any wrong impression as to
what I regard, or may hereafter regard, as my public duty.
242 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
Personally I wish you well, and would do all in my power
proper to be done to secure your success, but in public matters
personal feelings will not influence me.1
With kindest regards, yours truly,
U. S. GRANT.
With this discomforting letter ringing in their ears, the
state convention of the National Union Republican party as-
sembled at Jackson September 8 to nominate a state ticket.
Three hundred and twenty delegates representing forty coun-
ties were present. The " Dent Movement " had progressed
too far to be abandoned, in spite of the assurance of the Presi-
dent that his support should be given to the radicals. Dent
was accordingly nominated for governor. He was brought
into the convention hall, where he made a speech accepting
the nomination. His politics were unknown, and he allowed
all parties to remain in blissful ignorance of his views on democ-
racy and republicanism.2 The ticket was framed with a view
to catching the vote of the conservative negroes, should there
prove to be any. The Clarion early in the year had advised
the selection of colored delegates to the local and state con-
ventions, and to a limited extent the advice was followed.
In the state convention there were three colored candidates
for the nomination for secretary of state. Thomas Sinclair
of Copiah County succeeded in carrying off the honor. He
had few qualifications for the position, and was the first negro
ever nominated for a state office in Mississippi. The remain-
der of the ticket was divided between the Democrats and
1 Judge Dent made a spirited reply to the President's letter, in which he
asked if it was reasonable to suppose that people having the free choice of
their representatives would elect a class of politicians whose conduct had
made them peculiarly obnoxious. This, he said, was the charge made
against the radicals, not because they had fought in the Union army, or
because they were men of Northern birth and education, for many of them
were with the conservatives, or because they were Republicans, for their
opponents were among the first to advocate civil and political equality of all
men, but because of their policy of proscription, a policy that has made
them objects of peculiar abhorrence. A continual advocacy of proscription
in time of profound peace was calculated to lead to a black man's party
and a war of races. He concluded : u To this class of men whom you foiled
in their attempt to force upon the people of Mississippi the odious constitu-
tion rejected at the ballot box, you now give the hand of fellowship, and
spurn the other class, who, accepting the invitation of the Republican party
in good faith, came en masse to stand upon its platform and advocate its
principles."
2 The Grenada Sentinel, a Whig journal, said: "We are not advised of
Judge Dent's antecedents on whiggery or democracy, but we are willing to
go for him on the faith we have that Baine would never have consented for
a daughter of his to marry a Democrat."
PARTY POLITICS IN 1869 248
Republicans. The nominees for lieutenant governor, audi-
tor, and treasurer were ex-Union soldiers, while the nominees
for attorney general and superintendent of education were
native Democrats. The Clarion of September 11 announced
that the ticket would receive its warmest support, inasmuch
as the triumph of the party meant the " triumph of peace,
Justice, and liberty."
On September 30, the nominating convention of the
radical Republicans met at Jackson. Early in the year the
Okolona News (Republican) demanded that Eggleston should
be " shelved " in the race for governor, on account of the con-
spicuous part he had taken on the committee of sixteen in
its efforts to have him declared governor in spite of the elec-
tion of Humphreys. This view seems to have been wide-
spread. He was accordingly set aside, and J. L. Alcorn, a
native Republican, received the nomination. Captain R. C.
Powers, a Northern man and an ex- Union soldier, was nomi-
nated for lieutenant governor. He was at the time sheriff
of Noxubee County by military appointment from General
Ames.
The colored race, which had been so completely ignored
the year before, received a little more consideration at the
hands of this convention. They were permitted to furnish
the nominee for secretary of state, and their choice was the
Rev. James Lynch, an eloquent mulatto preacher from
Indiana. The nominee for auditor was Mr. Musgrove, an
ex-Union soldier from Illinois. H. R. Pease, a late Federal
captain from Connecticut, was nominated for superintendent
of education. The nominees for the other two offices were
native whites. The ticket as constituted, therefore, con-
tained three white "carpet baggers" three "scalawags,"
and one representative of the colored race. An equitable
distribution of the higher offices among these three classes
was one of the chief problems of reconstruction politics, and
was an element that could never be safely left out of consid-
eration.1 General Ames was present at the radical conven-
tion, and informed them that they had his sympathy, and
should have his support.
The campaign now began in earnest. Dent was prevailed
upon to come to Mississippi early in September and enter
1 Thus in 1870 we find Alcorn governor and Ames and Revels United
States senators ; in 1875 we find Ames governor and Alcorn and Bruce in the
Senate, in each case the Northern Republicans, the Southern Republicans,
and the colored race being represented in one of the throe greatest offices
within the gift of the party.
244 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
into the canvass at once. The Clarion of September 14
announced appointments for him at forty-three places.
Alcorn made his opening speech at Hernando, August 20.
His speech was confined chiefly to abuse of the Democratic
party, for which he seems to have had the most profound
contempt. He drew a gloomy picture of the state under
Democratic rule, accused the conservatives of attempting to
deceive the negroes, warned them not to believe the repre-
sentations of the Democrats, denied that the whites were law-
abiding, and brought forward statistics in support of his
charge. Dent challenged him for a joint discussion, and
they met for the first time at Grenada early in October. The
Clarion said it was a field day for the National Union Repub-
licans.1 This however does not appear to have been the fact.
Alcorn's readiness as a stump orator gave him a decided
advantage over his adversary, who was unaccustomed to this
style of campaigning. Judge Dent's chief weapon was his
sarcasm. As a member of the secession convention, Alcorn
is alleged to have boasted how he expected to move upon
the Federal Capital. He did not, however, participate in a
single battle, or receive a single wound. Dent turned this
to good account, and pictured Alcorn returning from the
war he had helped to inaugurate, " covered all over with
honorable wounds."2 The judge devoted much of his time
in an effort to convince his hearers that he was a bona fide
citizen of the state. He declared that his "whole soul was
enlisted in the great agricultural and commercial interests of
Mississippi, and their resuscitation and development."3
In the meantime, the district commander was making
ready for the election. On October 14, a military order
was issued by General Ames directing that the election be
held on November 30 and December 1, in pursuance of
the President's proclamation. The same order contained
detailed instructions for the revision of the registration lists,
the general management of the election, and the making of
the returns. On November 5, he issued another order ap-
pointing the registrars.* " To the end that the laws might
1 Issue of October 5.
2 The Aberdeen Examiner, in speaking of a joint discussion between the
two candidates at Aberdeen, said : " We had expected in Judge Dent a mod-
est declaimer who would say his piece and gracefully retire, but we were
most agreeably surprised to find in the conservative champion a most able
and eloquent debater and orator, one worthy to cope with any man upon the
stump whom we have listened to since the war."
8 Clarion, Aug. 12, 1869.
* Special Orders, No. 234. The pay of registrars, over one thousand in
number, was $5 per day and their expenses. The work of registration con-
PARTY POLITICS IN 1869 245
be fairly and justly executed," it was ordered that two white
and two colored persons of different political parties should
be selected by the board of registry in each precinct to chal-
lenge the right of any person to be registered who in the
opinion of the person challenging was disqualified from vot-
ing. Many other elaborate provisions were made for secur-
ing a correct registration and a fair election. Every possible
precaution with this end in view seems to have been taken.
The commanding general announced that if fraud was com-
mitted at the polls, or voters intimidated, a new election
should be held. On the 6th of November, an order was
issued detailing forty-nine army officers to serve as election
inspectors. They were for the most part captains and lieu-
tenants of the Sixteenth Infantry. In general, an inspector
was assigned to each county. They were to visit boards of
registry, and instruct them in regard to their duties, and
exercise general control of the work of registration, observe
closely the manner in which the election was held, and report
to headquarters. They were authorized to give orders in
the name of the commanding general, and were instructed to
keep him advised in advance upon probable occurrences
likely to affect the result of the election.
The election for the most part passed off quietly. There
were small " riots " in Sunflower, Newton, and Hinds coun-
ties, which the Clarion said were due to " radical intimida-
tion." The constitution was ratified almost unanimously,1
but the so-called proscriptive sections submitted separately
were rejected by overwhelming majorities.2 The Dent
tinued through a period of five days, the election continued two days, and it
required several days to complete the returns. The five presidents of registry
boards in each county were allowed pay for three days extra. The president
of the board of canvassers in each county was allowed $6 per day and his
expenses for bringing the returns to Jackson. Presidents of registry boards
received allowances for ballot boxes, stationery, and room rent, and a deputy
sheriff at each precinct was allowed $5 per day during the election. The
total cost of registering the voters and holding the election could not have
fallen far short of $100,000.
1 The vote for the constitution was 113,735 ; against it, 955.
2 The vote in favor of retaining the disfranchising provision was 2206 ;
against it, 87,874. The vote in favor of the disqualifying provision was 2390 ;
against it, 87,253. The section requiring all state officers and members of the
legislature to make oath that they had never served as members of any seces-
sion convention, voted for or signed any ordinance of secession, or as mem-
bers of any legislature voted for the call of any secession convention, was
rejected by a vote of 88,444 to 2170. But one of the clauses submitted to a
separate vote was ratified. That was the provision forbidding the loan of
the state's credit. The results, herewith given, are taken from the official
report of General Ames, contained in General Orders, No. 60. Appleton's
Ann. Cyclop, gives the vote in favor of the constitution as 105,223.
246 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
ticket was defeated by a majority that was truly discomfort-
ing to the Democrats who supported it. Alcorn received
76,143 votes as against 38,133 cast for his opponent. Almost
the solid colored vote was cast for the radical ticket. Twenty-
eight of the sixty counties had colored majorities. Alcorn
carried all these, together with fifteen counties having white
majorities. All the candidates for Congress on the Dent
ticket were likewise defeated, and a straight Republican
delegation consisting of three Northern men and two natives
was returned.1 The legislature elected was overwhelmingly
Republican. The Senate consisted of thirty-six Republicans
and seven Democrats ; the House of Representatives con-
tained eighty-two Republicans and twenty-five Democrats.
No local officers were chosen at this election, the appointees
of General Ames holding over for two years longer, that is,
until the fall of 1871, when the first general election for all
county and local offices since reconstruction was held.
In announcing the result of the election, the Clarion said
nobody was surprised. In the first place, the national ad-
ministration had sustained the district commander in his
" unscrupulous measures to carry the election by fraud and
violence."2 In the second place, a large number of whites,
which the Clarion estimated at about 15,000, were dis-
franchised,3 and in the third place, the voters in many
white counties had remained away from the polls. For
example, in Lauderdale and De Soto counties, 1300 white
voters took no part in the election, the number was 1500 in
Tishomingo, 1000 in Tippah, and 200 in Rankin.4 A Frank-
lin County pastor suggested a day of thanks and prayer to
God, who, he said, had permitted the radicals to get control
of the state, for the reason that the whites had forgotten him.5
1 The following were the members elected : First district, George E. Har-
ris ; second district, J. L. Morphis ; third district, H. W. Barry ; fourth dis-
trict, George C. McKee ; fifth district, Legrand W. Perce. Harris was a native
of Tennessee, and a Whig before the war. He became a Republican in 1867,
and was living at Hernandp at the time of his election to Congress. The
same may be said of Morphis, who resided at Pontotoc. Barry was a native
of New York, served in the Union army, rose to the rank of brevet brigadier
general, and was a delegate in the reconstruction convention. He served
three terms in Congress, and died in Washington in 1875. McKee was a
native of Illinois, a graduate of Knox College, and a brigadier general in the
Union army. He was a delegate in the reconstruction convention, and repre-
sented the Vicksburg district in Congress from 1870 to 1876. In legal and
forensic accomplishments he was the ablest of the "carpet baggers" in Mis-
sissippi. Perce was a native of New York, and an ex-Union soldier. Harris
and Perce are the only survivors of the Mississippi delegation in the Forty-
first Congress. 2 issue Of j)eCt 21, 1869. 8 Issue of Dec. 2, 1869.
* Issue of Dec. 11, 1869. 6 Ibid.
PARTY POLITICS IN 1869 247
The Clarion said there was one gratifying reflection upon
the result, namely, the state would be readmitted to the
Union, and the right of the people henceforth to hold their
own elections free from military interference and the right of
self-government were in sight. While a radical state ad-
ministration would unquestionably, the editor thought, prove
a "serious affliction," the prospective advantages alluded to
would be infinitely preferable to military government under
General Ames.1 The chief questions of interest were whether
Alcorn would appoint a good judiciary, and whether he would
retain his office or abandon it to "adventurers." Relative
to the first question, the new governor announced that he
would appoint judges " learned in the law, and whom society
would not presume to ignore." On the second question he
was painfully silent.
On December 20, General Ames issued an order reciting
the act of Congress under which the constitution had been
resubmitted, the proclamation of the President relative
thereto, and his own duty of announcing the result. He
declared that the Alcorn ticket had been elected, including
those members of the legislature whose names were there-
with published. The legislature was directed to meet at
Jackson, January 11, 1870.
On December 23, he issued the following order : —
HEADQUARTERS 4xn MILITARY DISTRICT,
DEPARTMENT OF MISSISSIPPI,
SPECIAL ORDERS, ) JACKSON> Ml8S" Dec' 23' 1869'
No. 277. \
The following named persons are hereby appointed to office in
the state of Mississippi : —
Jas. L. Alcorn, Governor.
Jas. Lynch, Sec'y of State, vice Henry Musgrove, whose resig-
nation is hereby accepted.
Henry Musgrove, Auditor of Public Accounts, vice Thos. T.
Swann, whose resignation is hereby accepted.
Joshua S. Morris, Attorney General.
Appointees must file with the proper officers such bonds and
other recognizances as may be required by the statute laws of
Mississippi, and take and subscribe to the oath of office prescribed
by the Act of Congress of July 2, 1862.
By command of
BREVET MAJ. GEN. AMES,
WM. ATWOOD, Aide-de-Camp.
i Issue of Dec. 2, 1869.
248 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
Although order No. 277 was issued as a " command," Alcorn
refused to accept the appointment. He informed General
Ames that, coming as it did from the military authorities, and
subject for its support to the military power, the fitness of
things forbade his acceptance, while he held in immediate
prospect the position of civil governor by that sanction most
acceptable to his instincts as an American citizen, that of
popular choice.
CHAPTER SIXTH
THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU
ONE of the institutions of reconstruction was the Freed-
men's Bureau. In view of the importance which was attached
to it by the reconstructionists, it has been thought worth
while to devote a separate chapter to its history and opera-
tions in Mississippi. As the Union armies, in the spring of
1863, moved down the Mississippi Valley to begin the siege
of Vicksburg, many of the planters abandoned their planta-
tions and fled before the approach of the enemy, leaving the
growing crops standing in the fields. The slaves, tempted
by the promise of freedom, or terrified by the policy of the
Confederate military commanders in transporting them to
less exposed parts of the country to prevent their capture,
went over in great numbers to the Federal lines, gathered
about the camps, or followed in the wake of the army. As
a result of this exodus from the plantations, General Grant
had fifty thousand freedmen in his camps along the Mississippi
River shortly after the fall of Vicksburg.1 To provide sub-
sistence for the new "contrabands" was a problem that
for a time greatly embarrassed him. His first recourse was
a call upon benevolent and philanthropic people of the North
for contributions of clothing and other necessaries to relieve
the government of what appeared to be an insupportable
burden. At the same time, he sent the Rev. Mr. Fiske,
chaplain and superintendent of contrabands, to the North, to
personally solicit supplies for the same purpose. In the
meantime, plans were in preparation for the employment of
the freedmen. In August of the preceding year, while Gen-
eral Grant was in North Mississippi, the President had
directed him to seize and use any property that he might
need for the prosecution of the war, and to employ as many
negro laborers as he might deem advantageous for military
purposes.2 By an order of August 10, 1863, it was directed
that at all posts where slavery had been abolished, camps
1 Report of Secretary of War, 1869-1870, Vol. I. p. 497.
2 Official Records, Series III. Vol. 3, Serial No. 124, p. 397.
249
250 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
should be established for freed people out of employment,
and that superintendents should be detailed to distribute
rations among them. It was ordered, furthermore, that they
should be employed as far as possible on the public works,
in gathering the crops on the abandoned plantations, or hired
to the planters. It was made the duty of provost marshals
to see that every negro within the jurisdiction of the military
authorities was employed by some white person or sent to
the camps for freedmen. Planters were permitted to make
contracts with them for wages by the month, or, in the case
of families, by the year, the employer in each case obligating
himself to furnish food and clothing to the laborer and
support the infirm members of the family. The rate of
wages was fixed at an amount equal to one-twentieth of the
value of the crops, and employers were required to give bond
for kind treatment and proper care of their employees.1
[/ The abandoned plantations were seized by the government
and leased to private persons, who employed the freedmen to
gather the crops. The harvest for 1863 was small on account
of the early abandonment of the growing crops, and it proved
impossible to gather all on account of Confederate raids
which scattered the negroes, and so terrified them that they
could not in many instances be induced to remain.2 In some
E laces where the plantations were abandoned, the negroes
jft behind asserted a sort of squatter claim, and gathered the
crops on their own account. One such family was reputed
to have thus gathered twenty-four bales of cotton, and sold
it for 1250 per bale. The scheme seemed to meet the ap-
proval of the President, and he announced that the occupation
of the abandoned plantations and the employment of the
freedmen thereon might be considered as the settled policy
of the government.3 Accordingly, preparations on a large
scale were made for leasing the plantations for the following
year to such " loyal " persons as would obligate themselves to
employ the contrabands. The whole matter was under the
supervision of General Lorenzo Thomas, who was assisted by
three subordinates styled " commissioners for leasing planta-
tions." 4 In the latter part of October, General Thomas issued
an elaborate code of regulations for the government of lessees.
It was stated that the property of disloyal persons belonged of
right to the United States, and might be taken possession of
1 New York Times, Aug. 30, 1863. 2 New York Herald, Jan. 3, 1864.
« Official Records, Series III. Vol. 4, p. 124.
4 They were Judge Field of Natchez, Colonel Montague of Vicksburg, and
Judge Dent of Goodrich Landing.
THE FBEEDMEN'S BUREAU 251
and leased to loyal citizens. Owners of " undoubted loyalty,"
who had been so from the beginning, were allowed to retain
their plantations, but where a doubt existed, they were per-
mitted to do so only upon condition that the owner in each
case should take for a partner some " loyal " citizen. It was
announced that the primary object of this requirement was to
line the banks of the Mississippi with a loyal population so
as to secure the uninterrupted navigation of the river. The
commissioners were overwhelmed with applications for lease-
holds, for the price of cotton was phenomenal ($250 per
bale), the land fertile, and labor cheap. From far and
near the applications came, many from Northern men, who
knew little of the methods of cultivating the cotton plant.
One newspaper correspondent informed his Northern readers
that the country would undoubtedly be filled with "loyal"
men by the first of April following. A few fortunes were
made by the lessees of abandoned plantations, but the failures
far outnumbered the successes. One lessee invested $13,000
in a crop and sold the product for $135,000. One correspond-
ent thus figured out the profits to be made in a single year: —
For purchase of stock, implements, supplies, and labor . . $ 14,000
Sale of eight hundred bales of Cotton 160,000
Net profits . $ 146,000
" There are few places in the North," said the writer,
"where so large a return can be made from so small an
investment." l And he was doubtless correct.
The lease was usually in the form of a permit, which
granted to the lessee the right to " use, farm, and enjoy " the
possession of a certain plantation until January 1, 1865. He
was required to take and file an oath of allegiance to the
United States, to pledge himself to employ a certain number
of able-bodied freedmen at $7 per month, to care for the
infirm of the family, to furnish them with a specified
amount of provisions, and not to inflict corporal punishment
on any employee. The consideration which the government
was to receive was $4 for each bale of cotton, and 5 cents
for each bushel of corn produced. The utterance of a dis-
loyal word at any time terminated the lease and all the
privileges which it carried.2 General Thomas estimated that
about 160 plantations would be leased in 1864. General
Sherman opposed the "plantation system," as he called it,
1 Natchez correspondent, New York Herald, Jan. 3, 1864.
2 These regulations are printed in the Official Records, Series III. Vol. 3,
Serial No. 124, p. 93U ; also in the New York Herald of Dec. 31, 1863.
252 BECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
on military grounds. He declared that it would be impossi-
ble to cultivate these abandoned lands on account of their
proximity to the territory under Confederate jurisdiction.1
In May, 1864, an order was issued to protect lessees from
alleged raids of guerillas. It was directed that whenever a
government lessee was robbed, the commander of the nearest
military post should send a sufficient force to seize from
disloyal persons property enough to indemnify the injured
lessee. If crops belonging to a lessee were destroyed or
injured, crops of the same kind belonging to disloyal persons
in the neighborhood would be seized and harvested for the
benefit of the lessee. If any lessee should be killed, an
assessment of $10,000 was to be levied on all disloyal per-
sons residing within thirty miles of the place occupied by
the lessee, and appropriated for the benefit of his family.2
In the spring of 1864, a more elaborate code of regulations
was adopted by the treasury department for the management
of abandoned property. Provision was made for the estab-
lishment of a home farm in each special treasury agency, to
be set apart for the colonization of such freedmen as preferred
to cultivate land on their own account. Each colony was to
be under the supervision of a superintendent.3
The site selected for the home farm in Mississippi was a
peninsula known as the Davis Bend, near Vicksburg. This
piece of land is shaped by a sweep of the Mississippi River
toward the west for six or eight miles, and then back again,
making the neck about a half mile in width. This narrow
stretch was fortified and defended by a regiment of negro
soldiers. The bend consisted of ten thousand acres of fertile
land, most of which was comprised in the plantation of
Jefferson Davis. When Farragut's fleet steamed up the river,
in 1863, it stopped long enough to allow the marines to go
ashore and destroy or carry away everything of value.4 The
slaves had already been sent away to Edwards Station, where
Grant freed them shortly afterward. But the land still
remained as fertile as ever, and General Dana " consecrated
it as a home for the emancipated." The order setting it apart
for this purpose declared it to be a " suitable place to furnish
means and security for the unfortunate race which he [Davis]
was so instrumental in oppressing." All persons not con-
nected with the military service were directed to leave the
1 Official Records, supra, p. 224.
2 New York Times, May 27, 1864.
8 Treasury Regulations for the Third Special Agency.
* T. W. Knox in New York Herald, Dec. 28, 1863.
THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU 253
plantation by January 1, 1865, after which no white person
would be allowed there without written permission. And
thus, it was said, the " nest in which the rebellion was hatched
has become the Mecca of freedom." l It was to be restored,
of course, at the close of hostilities, if the owner could fur-
nish satisfactory proof of undoubted loyalty throughout the
war.
The method of leasing the plantations was to a considerable
extent modified from time to time. Freedmen employed on
them were not to be enlisted as soldiers. Provost marshals were
stationed in the neighborhood of leased plantations to " see
that justice and equity were observed in all relations between
employers and freedmen." One school at least was to be
established for colored children in each police district. To
prevent demoralization of the freedmen by the presence of
negro troops, the latter were forbidden to visit the plantations,
while the former were prohibited from leaving their places of
employment. Employers were required to register the names
of employees in the office of the nearest provost marshal, and
laborers were expected to render ten hours of " faithful and
honest" labor every day, for which they were to receive
" healthy rations, comfortable quarters, clothing, fuel, medical
attention, instruction for their children, and $10 per month in
cash," one-half of which was to be forfeited in case of indo-
lence, insolence, and disobedience. In case of stubbornness,
the offender was to be turned over to the provost marshal,
who had plenary powers in all matters connected with the
labor of freedmen.2
This was the status of the problem when Congress turned
its attention to the establishment of a more adequate and
systematic method of caring for the freedmen. On the 1st
of Marclvl&BiU the House passed a bill to establish a " Bureau
of Freedmen's Affairs." The Senate modified it, the House
refused to concur, and Congress adjourned without taking
further action on the subject. At the ensuing session, the
matter was again brought forward, and on the 2d of March,
1865, a bill was agreed to by both Houses, and was signed on
the same day by the President. On the following day, Con-
gress adjourned without making an appropriation for the
support of the bureau. However, the revenues from aban-
doned lands and the proceeds from the sale of confiscated
property were sufficient to partially meet the demands of the
1 New York Times, Dec. 4, 1864.
3 Order of March 11, 1864. Official Records, supra, pp. 166-170.
254 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
bureau, and it was accordingly organized and put into opera-
tion. General O. O. Howard, commander of Sherman's
right wing in the army of the Tennessee, was decided upon
by President Lincoln for the head of the bureau. The
assassination of the President, however, occurred before he
had sent in the nomination, but Mr. Johnson, knowing his
wishes in the matter, promptly appointed General Howard.
The head of the bureau in Mississippi was styled an " assistant
commissioner," and the first incumbent was Colonel Samuel
Thomas. The state was divided into three sub-districts, each
of which was under the supervision of an " acting assistant
commissioner." At first the organization was as follows: —
I. The Northern District . . Lieutenant Colonel R. S. Donaldson.
II. The Southern District . . Major George D. Reynolds.
III. The Western District . . Captain J. H. Webber.
These were officers of negro regiments. There were in
addition to the commissioners a state superintendent of edu-
cation, an assistant adjutant general, an assistant inspector
general, a surgeon-in-chief, and a large corps of local agents
and teachers.1 The character and strength of the organization
varied from time to time. In December, 1865, there were
fifty-eight local agents and sixty-seven teachers in the service
of the bureau in Mississippi. It appears also that at one time
there were nearly a hundred medical officers and attendants
in the service. The agents were all military officers, and
the number exceeded those of any other state except Virginia,
which had eighty-four.2 In 1866, the organization consisted
of eight districts, each under the supervision of two or more
military officers, the senior officer in each district being styled
a sub-commissioner.3 In 1868, the organization consisted of
twenty-four sub-districts under the supervision of seven
officers of the regular army, eight officers of the reserve,
and eight civil officers.4 The number of local agents at this
time does not appear from the reports. In March, 1865, the
headquarters of the bureau were removed from Memphis to
Vicksburg, where they remained until the bureau was abol-
ished in 1869.
On the 3d of August, 1865, General Slocum, commander
1 Ex. Docs. 1st Ses. 39th Cong. No. 69, p. 167.
2 Report of the commissioner, ibid. No. 11, p. 36.
8 Sen. Docs. 2d Ses. 39th Cong. No. 6, p. 95.
4 At this time there were 141 commissioned officers, 412 agents, and
348 clerks in the entire service of the bureau in the South. Report Secretary
of War, 1869-1870, p. 497.
THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU 255
of the Department of Mississippi, issued an order calling
attention to the recent act of Congress for the establishment
of the Freedmen's Bureau, and directed all military author-
ities, who held abandoned property of any kind, to turn it
over at once to the officers of the bureau, together with all
funds or other property held for the benefit of freedmen.
All officers were directed to familiarize themselves with the
law establishing the bureau, and to aid in executing in good
faith the Emancipation Proclamation.1
Officers were instructed to inform colored people that they
had a right to visit the bureau officers for advice, information,
and protection whenever they thought they were wronged ;
that whenever the state laws or courts did not afford them
justice by admitting their testimony in cases in which they
were interested, they must apply to the nearest bureau office
for advice ; and that they were now free and entitled to wages
for their labor, but that freedom did not mean the right to
live without work at other people's expense. The freedmen
were advised to be patient, to behave themselves and not show
spite toward their former masters, to form lawful and regu-
lar marriages, and to regard the marriage contract as sacred.
Their attention was called to the advantages of education,
and they were informed that teachers would be sent among
them as soon as possible.2
Again, they were informed that, as soon as possible, officers
would be detailed to visit every locality in the state, while
others would be stationed at places of importance for the
purpose of enforcing the laws of Congress and the procla-
mations of the President; to see that they were secured in
their freedom and allowed a fair compensation for their
labor; to impress upon them the nature of their new rela-
tions arid obligations ; and to inform them that the govern-
ment did not intend to support them in their idleness.3
Planters were urged to visit the bureau officers and by per-
sonal inquiry learn of its organization, obtain copies of all
orders and circulars, and communicate the contents to their
neighbors.4 Every effort seems to have been made to estab-
lish relations of harmony between the bureau and the civil
authorities, and to secure the cooperation of the latter. The
efforts in this direction were attended by a large measure of
success, particularly under the later administration of the
bureau.
1 New York Times, Aug. 18, 1865.
2 Report of the commissioner, Ex. Docs. 1st Ses. 39th Cong. No. 69, p. 165.
8 Ibid. p. 150. * Ibid. p. 159.
256 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
s
In general, the duties of the bureau were to supervise
and manage all subjects relating to freedmen and refugees.
/ One of these was to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation.
As early as August 1, 1863, General Grant had called upon
the people of Mississippi to acknowledge the freedom of the
negroes, and enter into labor contracts with them.1 His
recommendation was regarded about as seriously as his order
relative to the abandonment of cotton by its owners. Those
slaves, however, who came into his lines were given their
freedom so far as the military commander in prosecution of
the war could do so. The Philadelphia North American esti-
mated that at the time the above-mentioned order was issued
there were 155,140 negroes in Mississippi who had been set
free by the "administration or the events of the war." No
owner, however, considered his slaves legally free, and of
course, did not treat them as such, except when under military
compulsion. With the surrender of the Confederate armies,
the various post commanders issued proclamations declaring
the slaves to be free, and admonishing owners to treat them
as such.2 The freedmen were advised to remain at home, but
the advice was not generally taken. They congregated in
the larger towns to such an extent that it became necessary
in some instances to order them back to the plantations by
military force. Thus at Columbus the commander issued an
order reciting that freedmen in great numbers were " revelling
in idleness," and that they must " retire to their homes or seek
employment elsewhere." They were given ten days to find
employment.3 They were ordered out of Natchez in a similar
manner. In August, 1866, all negroes in Vicksburg without
visible means of employment were informed by General Wood
that they must leave at once. In June, 1865, General Oster-
haus ordered that vagrancy among the negroes must not be
permitted, that they must be put to work, and the issue of
rations "closely watched."
A circular of July 9, 1865, instructed the agents of the
bureau in Mississippi to use all practicable means of making
public the proclamation of the President, in order that the
negroes might know that they were free. Agents were
directed to assemble them where possible, read the proclama-
tion, and use every effort to familiarize them with its contents.
They were furthermore advised to place printed copies in
the hands of colored ministers, who were requested to read it
1 New York Times, Aug. 30, 1863. 2 Ibid. June 11, 1865.
8 New York Herald, July 10, 1865.
THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU 257
to their congregations.1 Subsequently it was charged that
" combinations " existed among white persons for the pur-
pose of retaining control over their former slaves. Accord-
ingly, bureau officials were directed to take immediate steps
for the arrest and trial by military commission of such per-
sons. A sufficient cavalry force was to be placed at the
disposal of the officer, to enable him to make the arrest.
Agents were urged to use greater exertions in making public
the substance of the Emancipation Proclamation.2 These
instructions were followed by another circular in August,
which charged that the continued reenslavement of the
negro was leading to " abuses of the gravest character," and
the assistant commissioner declared that "the thing must
stop." He reminded the whites that emancipation was a fact,
although some of them were refusing to recognize it as such ;
he discoursed upon the importance of observing good faith
toward freedmen, and of treating them with kindness ; and
declared that the " old appliances " of slavery must be aban-
doned entirely.3
^fhe bureau continued the policy of leasing the abandoned
plantations and of establishing colonies for freedmen, although
there were some minor changes of methods, for example
as regards the form and amount of rent which the govern-
ment received.4 The amount of land leased by the bureau
varied from time to time. In 1865, the amount was 59,280
acres of land and 52 town lots.5 After the issue of the
President's amnesty proclamation, great pressure was brought
to bear upon the military authorities by owners to secure the
restoration of their lands. The bureau announced its deter-
mination to reject all applications for the restoration of such
lands as came strictly within the definition of " abandoned "
property. Not even a full and absolute pardon from the
President would be accepted as entitling the owner to a
restoration. The most perfect evidence of constant loyalty
1 Ex. Docs. 1st Ses. 39th Cong. No. 69, p. 150. 2 Ibid. p. 168.
8 Ibid. p. 159. The Natchez Courier of July 22, 1865, contains an editorial
deprecating the action of certain whites in attempting to make the negroes
believe that they were still slaves. Every employer was urged to explain to
his employees that they were free, that labor was honorable, and idleness a
crime.
4 Thus a circular of Nov. 14, 1865, declared that the previous method of
leasing lands had failed to secure to lessees the protection necessary to the
full realization of the benefits of their contracts. It was therefore ordered
that leases be so modified as to require lessees to pay two cents per pound
for all cotton produced, in lieu of one-eighth, as stipulated in the existing
contracts.
* Ex. Docs. 1st Ses. 39th Cong. p. 6.
s
258 BECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
throughout the war — evidence which could not be established
by a simple oath — would alone entitle the owner to his
property. The President, however, overruled the policy
laid down by the bureau officials, and by an order of July 1,
1865, directed that all abandoned property in the possession
of the bureau should be restored to its owners upon presenta-
tion of a special pardon from himself or a copy of the amnesty
oath properly signed and authenticated. This order was
censured by the radicals, who clamored for the confiscation of
rebel land and its division among the freedmen.1 On the
12th of September, a circular was issued prescribing detailed
instructions for the restoration of abandoned property. The
land under cultivation by the freedmen was to be held by
the bureau until the growing crops were gathered, unless
owners were willing to make full compensation for labor
already performed. By the first of December, Colonel Thomas
reported that he had restored ninety plantations in Mississippi,
aggregating forty-five thousand acres of land, and one hundred
business houses and lots, and that there still remained in the
possession of the bureau thirty-five thousand acres and forty-
two pieces of city property.2 By the first of November, 1867,
all property in the possession of the bureau had been restored
to its original owners.3 Confiscated land was not so promptly
restored. The bureau continued to lease or colonize it. In
addition to the Home Farm colony at Davis Bend, already
mentioned, other colonies were established at Camp Hawley, a
short distance north of Vicksburg, at De Soto Landing, and at
the village of Washington near Natchez. The land occupied
by these colonies was divided up into small farms, tenant
houses were erected, and a system of self-government in one
instance was put into operation. The Davis Bend colony at
one time contained 1750 freedmen who are alleged to have
cleared $160,000 in 1865. The Camp Hawley colony culti-
vated 700 acres and produced 223 bales of cotton. This
colony came out in debt. The Home Farm colony, in 1865,
produced 234 bales, at an actual profit of about $25,000.*
1 Report of the commissioner, Ex. Docs. 1st Ses. 39th Cong. No. 11, p. 4.
General Howard proposed that in restoring abandoned property, those who
owned more than $20,000 worth should be required to convey in fee simple
to each head of a family formerly held in slavery, a homestead varying in
extent from five to ten acres.
2 Sen. Docs. 1st Ses. 39th Cong. No. 27, p. 30. The plantation of Joseph
Davis adjoining that of his brother Jefferson was not restored until Jan. 1,
1867. He was allowed rent, however, from Mar. 20, 1866, amounting to $8000.
8 Report of Secretary of War, 1867-1868, pp. 621, 660.
* See Sen. Docs. 1st Ses. 39th Cong. No. 27,
THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU 259
of the undertakings of the bureau was to provide free
transportation for " refugees " or those who, declining to sup-
port the cause of the Confederacy, were compelled to move
away at the outbreak of the war, and those who had followed
the Federal army to other parts of the country. This policy
seems to have been attended with great abuses. The com-
missioner issued an order announcing that free transportation
should be restricted to cases where humanity demanded the
return of the refugee.1 Four thousand and thirty-one Missis-
sippi refugees were beneficiaries of this provision ; 1946 were
free negroes.2 The rest were white deserters from the Con-
federate army, stragglers, aliens, and Northern men who were
living in the state at the beginning of the war. In addition
to the refugees included under this head, free transportation
was furnished to 307 teachers and agents of missionary
societies in the North. The total expenses on this account
were, for Mississippi, $312,424.
A larger task than the above was to provide for the imme-
diate wants of the large class of freedmen alleged to be
destitute. To furnish them with medical attention, nine
hospitals and two dispensaries were established in Mississippi.
A surgeon-in-chief, twelve medical officers, and seventy-nine
assistants were employed at one time in the work.3 During
the first year of its operations, 5716 patients were treated.4
During the summer of 1865, 182,899 rations were furnished to
freedmen in Mississippi.5 They were alleged to be in desti-
tute circumstances, although the commissioner says in his
report of December 1, 1865, that no necessity existed why a
single freedman should be out of employment, and that
50,000 more laborers could be profitably employed if they
could be obtained.6
By direction of General Howard, no rations were issued to
freedmen in Mississippi after August 26, 1866, except in case
of the sick in regularly organized hospitals, and refugees in
actual want.7 The number in both of these classes seems to
have been considerable. Thus from September 1, 1866, to
June 1, 1867, nearly 5000 freedmen received hospital
treatment, and during the same period 99,842 rations were
1 Report of the commissioner, Ex. Docs. 1st Ses. 39th Cong. No. 11, p. 16.
2 Charles Truman relates that while at Selma, Alabama, in 1865, he saw
large numbers of negroes, " refugees," making their way back to Mississippi.
They had followed Sherman's army to Georgia.
8 Report of the commissioner, supra.
* Sen. Docs. 1st Ses. 39th Cong. No. 27, p. 31.
6 Ibid. pp. 30, 40. • Ibid. p. 43.
7 Sen. Docs. 2d Ses. 39th Cong. No. 6, p. 95.
260 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
issued. This was partly due to the failure of the crops, on
account of which widespread suffering existed in the state.
Congress came to the aid of the bureau, and authorized the
Secretary of War to issue through the bureau supplies of
food to prevent starvation and extreme want to any and all
destitute persons. From May to September, 1867, provisions
were issued to more than 12,000 persons, of whom about 5000
were white.1 Large quantities of supplies were also contrib-
uted by benevolent persons in the North.
Another duty which the bureau assumed was that of
extending the advantages of education to those whom the
fortune of the war had made free. At first, chaplains of
colored regiments were put to teaching. Schools were estab-
lished by missionary societies and benevolent associations.
Upon the organization of the bureau, a systematic plan of
negro education was adopted. A state superintendent of
education was appointed to exercise general supervision
over the schools. Sub-commissioners were directed to set
apart the necessary accommodations, and to make provision
for the employment of teachers.2 During the first year of its
existence the bureau established sixty-eight schools in Missis-
sippi, with an enrollment of 5271 pupils.3 The teachers
were for the most part from the North, were furnished free
transportation on account of the bureau, and were usually
paid by missionary societies. The United Presbyterian body
at one time had fifteen teachers at Vicksburg and Davis
Bend. The Freedmen's Aid Commission, the American
Missionary Association, the Indiana and Ohio Friends also
supported schools in Mississippi. The opposition to negro
schools led the commissioner to publish a circular on Octo-
ber 24, setting forth at length the advantages of educating
the freedman, arid the unwisdom of keeping him in igno-
rance.4 He advised that no schools be established in any
place where a bureau agent was not stationed. He fur-
nished the names of twenty-two places where he said it
would be " safe and expedient " to open freedmen's schools.5
Public sentiment soon underwent a change, and many planters
established schools on their places, donated school sites to
1 Report Secretary of War, 1867-1868, pp. 621, 660.
2 Ex. Docs. 1st Ses. 39th Cong. No. 69, p. 155.
8 Sen. Docs. 1st Ses. 39th Cong. No. 27, p. 31.
* The Fic&s&wgr Herald said: "These unscrupulous agitators who appoint
themselves in the name of the North to come down here and tell the negro
what he ought to do if the government does not do this or that, ought to be
shipped back to their homes and warned not to return again."
6 Ex. Docs. 1st Ses. 39th Cong. No. 69, p. 160.
THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU 261
the freedmen, or contributed money for the erection of
schoolhouses.1
One of the most useful functions of the Freedmen's Bureau
was the assistance which it afforded in the readjustment of
the labor system. In order to prevent dishonest employers
from taking advantage of the f reedman's ignorance to inveigle
him into oppressive contracts, it was ordered that all labor
agreements should be made in writing, and copies of the same
filed with the nearest sub-commissioner, whose approval was
necessary to their validity.2 The chief objection to this
requirement was the inconvenience to which it put the
employer, and the likelihood of injustice resulting from the
unfamiliarity of the agent with the value of the different
kinds of labor in the South.
No complaint was more general among the whites than that
the bureau encouraged the negroes in their idleness by taking
them under its care and dispensing rations to them. The
complaint was certainly not without foundation, and yet the
higher officials of the bureau constantly used the vast influ-
ence which they possessed with the freedmen, to induce them
to form labor contracts and to adopt habits of thrift and
industry. It will be remembered that the freedmen for the
most part refused to make contracts for the year 1866, in the
belief that the lands would be distributed among them.3
Colonel Thomas issued circular after circular admonishing
the negroes that complaints were being made to him that
they could not be induced to labor, and that as laborers they
were unreliable. In order to encourage them to seek em-
ployment, he offered to furnish free transportation to any
freedman who found it necessary to go to another part of the
state in order to find employment. On the 31st of Decem-
ber, 1865, he issued a circular reminding them that the time
had come when it was highly important that they should
make contracts for the ensuing year, in order that crops might
be produced for their support. They were urged to familiar-
ize themselves with the forms of law, cherish a respect for
its commands, and regard their contracts and obligations as
1 See Report Secretary of War, 1807-1868, p. 621 ; also, report of John
M. Laughton, inspector of schools, New York Times, Aug. 9, 1867.
2 Ex, Docs. 1st Ses. 39th Cong. No. 69, p. 168.
8 When the Fifty-fifth United States Colored Infantry was mustered out at
Jackson in February, 1866, not one of them could be induced to enter into
a labor contract. Charles Truman, New York Times, Feb. 4, 1866.
A Northern traveller says an intelligent freedman in Mississippi told
him that he considered no man free who had to work for a living. New York
Herald, Oct. 2, 1865.
262 EECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
sacred. Every effort seems to have been made to impress
upon them a sense of their obligations to society and to civil
government. A general order of the same date made it the
duty of bureau agents to see that freedmen were properly
contracted with ; to act as their next friend, by affording them
advice on all matters relating to contracts ; and to make full
reports to headquarters of all attempts to deal unjustly with
them.1 Again, on the 2d of January, 1866, Colonel Thomas
published an address to the freedmen of the state, telling them
that he was their lawful protector and adviser, and to some
extent responsible for their conduct.2 Again he reminded
them of the necessity of entering into contracts for the ensu-
ing year, informed them that he had received many com-
plaints charging them with not living up to their contracts,
but working as they pleased, and deserting their crops when
they knew that the employer would lose all. " The time has
come," he said, " when you must contract for another year's
labor. I wish to impress upon you the importance of doing
this at once. You know that if a crop of cotton is raised, the
work must be begun soon, and hands employed for the year."
Continuing, he said, " I hope you are all convinced that you
are not to receive property of any kind from the government,
and that you must labor for what you get like other people.
As the representative of the government, I tell you that your
conduct is very foolish, and your refusal to work is used by
your enemies to your injury." He told them that the vagrant
laws were right in principle, and he could not ask the civil
authorities to allow freedmen to remain idle and depend for
their subsistence upon begging or stealing. In regard to
their professed fear of entering into written contracts, he said :
" Some of you have the absurd notion that if you put your
hands to a contract you will somehow be made slaves. This
is all nonsense, made up by some foolish, wicked person.
Your danger lies exactly in the other direction. If you do
not have some occupation, you will be treated as vagrants, and
made to labor in the public works."
Colonel Thomas time and again gave the freedmen sensi-
ble advice like the above. In view of the great influence
which army officers exerted upon the freed people, there can
be little doubt that such addresses were productive of good
results.
During the winter of 1865-1866, Colonel Thomas made a
1 Ex. Docs. 1st Ses. 39th Cong. No. 27, p. 36.
2 Sen. Docs. 1st Ses. 39th Cong. No. 27.
THE FKEEDMEN'S BUREAU 263
tour of investigation through the state to ascertain, as he said,
how the freedmen were being treated by the whites, what
they were doing, and the general effect of the return to civil
law. Among the towns visited by him were Jackson, Me-
ridian, Lauderdale, Macon, Columbus, Aberdeen, Okolona,
Corinth, Holly Springs, Grenada, and Canton. He said he
made it his object to converse with mayors, magistrates, and
other civil officers, together with the most influential freed-
men. Upon the completion of his tour, he reported that the
bureau " was working in perfect harmony with the state gov-
ernment and the department commander"; that freedmen
had for the most part contracted with their old masters, had
gone to work, and showed a disposition to live up to their
contracts ; that, on the whole, they were treated better than
could be expected; that their freedom was generally recog-
nized by the white people, who had undergone a change of
feeling toward them ; that the praises of the freedman were
being sounded everywhere for his readiness to work and his
general good conduct, there being few crimes among them
greater than petty larcenies; that the vagrant laws were
not being enforced in any of the towns, there being no neces-
sity for it; and that the demand for labor exceeded the
supply.1
The most notable political function of the bureau was to
" afford protection and justice " to the freedmen. In General
Slocum's order of August 3, 1865, announcing the establish-
ment of the Freedmen's Bureau, he directed that all legal
controversies between white and colored persons should be
adjudicated by the bureau, so long as the testimony of freed-
men was excluded from the civil courts. But at the same
time, he directed that military officers must not remove from
the custody of the civil authorities any freedman charged
with larceny or other misdemeanor, where the court was will-
ing to concede to the negro offender the same privileges as
were granted to whites. He declared that it was not the
purpose of the government to screen negro criminals from
just punishment, nor to encourage them in the idea that they
could escape the penalties of crime, but simply to secure to
them the rights of freemen.2 The policy of removing civil
cases to bureau tribunals was extremely objectionable to the
whites, and was vigorously protested against by the civil
authorities. On several occasions, the forcible removal of
1 Sen. Docs. 1st Ses. 39th Cong. No. 27, p. 43.
2 New York Tribune, Aug. 18, 1865.
264 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
white offenders from the custody of the civil officials created
not a little excitement. One of these was the case of Joseph
Jackson, who was charged with the murder of a negro in
Washington County, the only witness to the act being a
black man, whose testimony was not admitted to the court.
Jackson was taken from the custody of the civil authorities,
and in pursuance of orders from Washington, tried before a
military commission.1 That the authority of the bureau
officials was sometimes abused, appears from the following
case. A master was before the court of Madison County,
charged with maltreating an apprentice. Colonel Donald-
son, sub-commissioner of the bureau, undertook to instruct
the circuit judge as to what he should do in the premises.
This communication was referred to Governor Humphreys,
who sent it to the major general commanding, with a letter
in which he pointed out the fact that so far as the differences
in the law of apprenticeship were concerned, the advantages
were with colored children. " Why the legislature has dis-
criminated thus in favor of the freedmen is," he said, " not
for the executive to inquire into; but to avoid collision be-
tween the military and civil authorities, it is important for
the civil officers to know with certainty whether these laws
are to be nullified." The matter ended with a letter from
Colonel Thomas to Lieutenant Colonel Donaldson, in which
he said: "Nothing but the most convincing proof that the
child was inhumanly treated should have caused you to take
any step for his release, and then only after the refusal of
the judge of probate to release him on the presentation of
the facts as they were before you. It is the policy of the
bureau to recognize the civil power of the state to the fullest
extent, and to infuse into the minds of the freedmen respect
for the civil officers and government under which they must
live at no distant day. It is not desired to nullify any state
law, but to soften the application of those parts that may
seem oppressive, and to interfere for the protection of freed-
men only in individual cases, when local prejudices may
cause the executive or judicial officers of the state to deny
the freedmen the rights which we are here to secure them.
If you will examine the decision of Judge Campbell attached
to this paper, you will see that he is willing to give the law
an interpretation that is liberal and just. It would be wrong
for the bureau to assume any attitude that would injure this
officer's influence. It is my opinion that the larger number
1 New York Tribune, Aug. 18, 1865.
THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU 265
of the judges of the state would render the same decisions,
and that only isolated cases occur where the law is inter-
preted oppressively. It is but treating them with due respect
to make an effort to correct an evil through them, before any
other method is adopted. You will see on reflection that it
was not proper to write a letter of instructions to any officer
of the civil government. You will, therefore, in the case of
Charles Pitard, write a letter to the judge of probate at
Canton, Mississippi, saying that you withdraw your letter of
instructions." 1
A conflict between the bureau authorities and the civil
power occurred in Copiah County in November, 1865. An
officer of the bureau had been arrested by the sheriff on a
warrant, issued by a magistrate, for assault and battery upon
a citizen. The officer defied the sheriff, but was finally ar-
rested and lodged in jail. He refused to give bond for his
appearance at the next term of the circuit court, although it
is alleged a number of persons offered to make his bond.
The military authorities decided to release him, and a detach-
ment from the Fifty-eighth Colored Infantry took him from
the jail and arrested the deputy sheriff who executed the
warrant. Governor Humphreys telegraphed the facts to the
President, and asserted that the civil authorities were being
defied by the military. The President at once directed Gen-
eral Osterhaus to cause the release of the deputy sheriff, and
ordered that no more interferences of this kind be permitted.
The commander who was responsible for the affair was relieved
of his command.2
The possibility of conflicts between the bureau and civil
authorities was diminished by the arrangement between Gov-
ernor Sharkey and Colonel Thomas, in which it was agreed
that negro testimony should be admitted to the courts, and
military interference should cease. The arrangement was so
generally carried out in good faith by the judicial authorities
that all Freedmen's Bureau courts were discontinued Novem-
ber 1, 1865.3 All further interference by the bureau officials
in any manner with the execution of the state laws or judicial
proceedings were henceforth forbidden. On account of the
ignorance and poverty of the freedmen, however, provision
was made for assisting them in the prosecution of their cases
in the courts. They were advised as to their rights at law,
1 Goodspeed's Memoirs of Mississippi, Vol. II. p. 26.
2 Jackson correspondent New York Daily News, Nov. 16, 1865 ; also New
York Tribune, November 25.
8 Ex. Docs. 1st Ses. 39th Cong. No. 69, p. 159.
266 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
and were aided by professional counsel. Sub-commissioners
were directed to appear before the courts in behalf of colored
litigants, advise them as to the merits of their cases, and of
the best mode of procedure, and to see that witnesses were
suitably instructed in regard to the nature and responsibility
of oaths.1 A Northern attorney was employed to act as
special counsel for freedmen who had cases before the courts.
He reported, December 1, 1865, that he had defended freed-
men in nineteen cases and had sworn out writs of habeas
corpus for their benefit in seventeen instances.2 He was sat-
isfied as to the judicial integrity of the judges, and did not
think that a white jury would knowingly convict an innocent
freedman.
With the surrender of the judicial functions of the bureau,
it was announced that the vagrancy laws might be enforced,
and convicted parties put to work on the public roads or
handed over to the bureau authorities, who would undertake
to find employment for them ; that no more marriage licenses
would be issued by bureau officials, except upon refusal of
county clerks to issue them ; and that no further regulations
would be made concerning the price of labor.3
Several changes were made in the administration of the
bureau in Mississippi. Colonel Thomas's administration was
marked by numerous conflicts between the military and civil
authorities, and his course was the subject of constant com-
plaint by the whites. He was superseded, early in 1866, by
General Thomas J. Wood, whose administration seems to
have been an improvement over that of his predecessor.
There were fewer collisions with the civil authorities, and
the general tone of society assumed a more settled condition.
He reported that the whites were " acting nobler than could
be expected of them," that they manifested a disposition to
obey the laws and become loyal citizens, and that he and the
civil government worked in perfect harmony.4 General
Wood turned over to the civil authorities all complaints of
crime except in a few extraordinary cases. In all such cases,
he said, substantial justice had been done the negro, and
offenders punished. In the beginning of the year, he advised
the freedmen to form labor contracts, but refused to enforce
the state law absolutely requiring them to contract. His
administration was the subject of favorable comment by the
1 Report of the commissioner, Ex. Docs. 1st Ses. 39th Cong. No. 69, p. 173,
2 Ex. Docs. 1st Ses. 39th Cong. No. 27, p. 36.
8 Ibid. No. 69, p. 17,3.
4 New York Times, Feb. 4, 1866.
THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU 267
whites.1 He was succeeded, in January, 1867, by General
Alvan C. Gillem, who was the last assistant commissioner.
The offices of district military commander and assistant com-
missioner of the bureau were consolidated in 1867.
Congress, in July, 1868, directed that the bureau be with-
drawn from the several states, and its operations, with the
exception of the education and bounty divisions, be discon-
tinued after January 1, 1869. Freedmen were reminded that
they must now look to the civil magistrates for protection of
their rights, and that supplies of food, clothing, medicines, free
transportation, and assistance in making contracts must soon
cease.2
The chief objection of the Southern white man to the
bureau was that it established a sort of espionage over his
conduct. He could not enter into a contract with a freed- '
man, no matter how advantageous the terms might have been
to both, without the approval of a bureau agent whose head-
quarters were perhaps fifty miles away, and who perhaps
knew little of the value of the consideration he was called
upon to approve. If a colored employee neglected his crop,
and the employer discharged him, the employer was almost
sure to be arrested and brought before a Freedmen's Bureau
court. Police regulations intended to check the demoraliza-
tion of the freedmen, and compel them to work, were often
construed as attempts to deprive them of their newly acquired
rights. Being released from the effects of the old slave laws
that prevented them from assembling at night, they now
seemed to be possessed of the belief that it was unrepublican
not to wander about and hold meetings of different kinds.
The attempts of the civil authorities to restrain this new
propensity were not generally allowed to be enforced.
In June, 1866, Generals Steadman and Fullerton visited
the state as special commissioners to investigate the affairs
of the bureau.3 They spent more or less time at Meridian,
Columbus, Corinth, Grenada, Jackson, and Vicksburg, where
they had personal interviews with all classes of the inhabit-
ants. They reported that only here and there had the
bureau accomplished any good. The chief objection, they
said, was not due to the conduct of the higher officials, but to
1 The Vicksburg Herald said : " So high does he stand in the estimation of
our people, that it would be fortunate for the country if the administration of
the Freedmen's Bureau could have such an enlightened and excellent officer
as General Wood in eve^ state. See also the Report of Generals Steadman
and Fullerton, Chicago Tribune, Aug. 10, 1866.
2 Report Secretary of War, 1869-1870, Vol. I. p. 497.
8 Their report is printed in the New York Times of July 7, 1866.
268 BECONSTKUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
the subordinates, " who had the idea that the bureau was
established simply for the freedmen." 1
1 The New York Times of Oct. 5, 1866, contains a letter from I. T. Mont-
gomery, an intelligent negro at Davis Bend, and the first of his race to hold
a public office in Mississippi, complaining of the dishonesty of the bureau
agents in charging excessive fees for their services. The only instances of offi-
cial dishonesty among the subordinate officials which I have been able to find
was the case of an agent in Rankin County, who was convicted of malfeas-
ance by a military commission and sentenced to the penitentiary. See H.
Mis. Docs. 3d Ses. 40th Cong. No. 53, p. 240.
Another agent in De Soto County was dismissed by General Gillem for
imposing illegal fines and for collecting money for a negro woman and refus-
ing to pay it over to her. Ibid. p. 194.
CHAPTER SEVENTH
THE REESTABLISHMENT OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT
I. THE FESTAL ACT OF RECONSTRUCTION
THE reconstruction legislature, the body which was to per-
form the final act in the work of congressional reconstruc-
tion, so far as the duty of the state was concerned, met at
Jackson, January 11, 1870, in pursuance of the orders of the
commanding general. It was the first meeting of a legisla-
tive body in the state since the inauguration of the congres-
sional policy of reconstruction, the legislature elected in
1868 having never been convened on account of the defeat
of the constitution to which it owed its existence.
In personnel as well as in politics, the first reconstruction leg-
islature differed widely from any law-making body that had ever
assembled in the state. In the first place, it contained nearly
forty colored members, most of whom were slaves up to the
close of the war.1 Not one of them had any legislative expe-
rience, some of them had almost no conception of their duties
as lawmakers, while a goodly number were unable to read and
write, and were compelled to attach their signatures to the
legislative pay rolls in the form of a "mark."2 There were,
on the other hand, some very intelligent negroes in the legis-
1 As far as I am able to determine, the following is a list of the colored
members in the lower House : —
Charles P. Head, Peter Borrow, and Albert Johnson of Warren ; Henry
May son and C. F. Norris of Hinds ; J. F. Bolden of Lowndes ; John R. Lynch
and H. P. Jacobs of Adams ; Edmund Scarborough and Cicero Mitchell of
Holmes ; Dr. J. J. Spellman of Madison ; William Holmes of Monroe ; Isham
Stewart, Nathan McNeese, and A. K. Davis of Noxubee ; John Morgan and
Dr. Stites of Washington ; W. H. Foote of Yazoo ; Ambrose Henderson
of Chickasaw ; M. T. Newsom of Claiborne ; Emanuel Handy of Copiah ;
Merrimon Howard of Jefferson ; J. Aaron Moore of Lauderdale ; David
Higgins of Oktibbeha ; C. A. Yancey and J. H. Piles of Panola ; H. M. Foley
and George W. White of Wilkinson; C. M. Bowles of Bolivar; Richard
Griggs of Issaquena ; and George Charles of Lawrence.
2 My authority for this statement is a letter from Senator Pease, who was
at the time state superintendent of education.
270 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
lature, this being particularly true of the ministers of the
gospel, of whom there were about one dozen in the lower
House. In the Senate there were five colored members, three
of whom were ministers.1
Nothing illustrates better the extent of the revolution than
the fact that some of the wealthiest counties of the state were
represented wholly by men who a few years before were negro
slaves. Thus Warren, of which Vicksburg is the chief place,
was represented in the House and Senate by four negroes.
Hinds, the county in which the state capital is located, had
two negro representatives and one negro senator; Adams,
of which Natchez is the county seat, — a county standing
first in the history of the state for its ancient aristocracy, its
wealth and culture, was represented in the lower House by
three negroes, and in the Senate by another ; the large wealthy
county of Washington, of which Greenville is the chief town,
had two colored representatives and one colored senator; the
great county of Noxubee, in the eastern part of the state,
noted for its fertile prairie farms and well-to-do planters, was
represented by three negroes ; Holmes, Panola, and Wilkin-
son, all large and wealthy counties, had two colored repre-
sentatives each, while a good many others had one each. In
addition to this element, there was a sprinkling of "carpet
baggers," for the most part ex- Union soldiers, who had re-
cently settled in the state.2 These two elements, together
with the " scalawags," or native white Republicans, consti-
tuted a large majority, and thus easily outvoted the repre-
sentatives of the class which had hitherto held the political
power of the state. They controlled the organization of
the legislature, shaped the legislation, and established the
public policy of the state. The House organized by electing
to the speakership Dr. Franklin, a "carpet bagger" from
New York. He sat for the county of Yazoo. Immediately
after the completion of the organization, General Ames,
in his capacity as provisional governor, sent in a message
requesting immediate consideration of the Fourteenth and
1 The colored senators were Rev. H. R. Revels of Adams ; Rev. William
Gray of Washington ; Rev. T. W. Stringer of Warren ; Charles Caldwell of
Hinds ; and Robert Gleed of Lowndes. Revels became a United States Sena-
tor, Gray a brigadier general of state militia, and Caldwell was killed shortly
after the Clinton riots in 1875.
2 The "carpetbaggers" in this legislature who subsequently figured
prominently in the politics of the state, were W. H. Gibbs from Illinois ;
A. Warner from Connecticut ; A. T. Morgan from Wisconsin ; A. G. Packer
from New York ; O. C. French from Ohio ; W. B. Cunningham from Penn-
sylvania ; W. H. Warren from Massachusetts ; and H. W. Lewie from Ohio.
THE FINAL ACT OF RECONSTRUCTION 271
Fifteenth Amendments. They were promptly ratified by
large majorities.1
This completed the reconstruction of Mississippi, so far
as the duty of the state in the premises was concerned. In
performing this final act the duty of the legislature was
ministerial only. It was made an absolute condition prece-
dent to the reestablishment of civil government and admis-
sion to representation in Congress. General Ames informed
the members that they were entitled to no compensation, and
that they had no power to enter upon general legislation, until
this act had been performed.
It devolved upon the legislature at this session to choose
three United States senators, — one for the full term begin-
ning March 4, 1871, and two for unexpired terms. For the
full' term, Governor- elect Alcorn was chosen almost unani-
mously. For the unexpired terms, General Ames and the
Rev. Hiram R. Revels (colored) were chosen.2 Senator
Revels went to Mississippi during the war as the chaplain of
a negro regiment. He enjoyed the distinction of being the
first colored man to secure a seat in the United States Senate,
and strangely enough was chosen to fill the unexpired term
of Jefferson Davis.3 The more sentimental of the radicals
saw in this the fulfilment of a prophecy which Davis is
alleged to have made to Simon Cameron upon the former's
withdrawal from the Senate in 1861, namely that in all proba-
bility a black negro would be sent there to take his place.4
After ratifying the constitutional amendment and electing
United States senators, the legislature adjourned to await the
action of Congress.
1 The Fourteenth by a vote of 23 to 2 in the Senate ; and by a vote of 87
to 6 in the House. The Fifteenth was ratified by the Senate unanimously ;
in the House but one vote was cast against it.
2 General Ames received all the Republican votes in the Senate and 72 in
the House, as against 19 for Lowry, Democrat. Revels was brought in and
elected as a "dark horse," General Eggleston being the leading candidate in
the beginning of the contest.
8 Dr. Revels was born in North Carolina, removed to Indiana in early life,
where he attended a Quaker seminary and became a Methodist minister and
a teacher. At the outbreak of the war he was engaged in pastoral work at
Baltimore, but at once entered the Federal service and assisted in the organi-
zation of two negro regiments. He followed the army to Jackson, Mississippi,
and aided in the administration of the Freedmen's Bureau. At the close of
the war, he settled at Natchez and became a presiding elder and a member of
the state Senate, which position he was holding at the time of his election
to the United States Senate. Since 1873 he has lived at Holly Springs.
* New York World, March 4, 1870.
272 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
II. READMISSION TO THE UNION
The state having fulfilled every condition of the recon-
struction acts, and of the act under which the constitution
had been resubmitted, every consideration of good faith
required its speedy admission to the Union on an equality
with the original states. On the 3d of February, 1870,
General Butler, from the committee on reconstruction, re-
ported a bill for this purpose, and asked that it be put imme-
diately upon its passage, it being the same in substance as the
bill to readmit Virginia, which had already been fully dis-
cussed.1 This bill provided for the readmission of the state
upon the condition that before any member of the legislature
should take his seat, or any officer of the state should enter
upon the discharge of his duties, he should take and subscribe
to the following oath, a copy of which was to be deposited
with the Secretary of State for permanent preservation : " I
do solemnly swear that I have never taken an oath as a mem-
ber of Congress or as an officer of the United States, or as a
member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial
officer of any state to support the Constitution of the United
States, and afterward engaged in rebellion against the same,
or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof, so help me,
God." The provision did not apply to those whose political
disabilities had already been removed by Congress.2 Addi-
tional conditions were : first, that the constitution should
never be amended so as to deprive any citizen of the right to
vote ; second, that it should never be lawful for the state to
deprive any citizen of the United States, on account of race,
color, or previous condition of servitude, of the right to hold
office under the constitution and laws of the state ; third, the
constitution should never be amended so as to deprive any
citizen of the United States of the benefits and privileges of
the public schools.3 Mr. Beck offered as a substitute for the
Butler bill a simple resolution for the unconditional readmis-
sion of the state. The substitute was rejected, and the Butler
1 Globe, 2d Ses. 41st Cong. pt. i. p. 1013.
2 Most of the prominent Republicans of the state had already secured the
removal of their disabilities. By a concurrent resolution of January 15, the
disabilities of 139 such persons were remoVed. Most of them were officers
elect, and the resolution was passed to enable them to qualify. Among them
were Judges Simrall, Orr, and Peyton, and Hon. J. S. Morris, Hon. J. L.
Morphis, and George E. Harris.
• Globe, 2d Ses. 41st Cong. pt. i. p. 1173.
READMISSION TO THE UNION 273
bill passed on February 3, by a yea and nay vote of 136 to
56.1 In the Senate, the bill was referred to the judiciary
committee, of which Mr. Trurnbull of Illinois was chairman.
On February 10, the committee reported back the bill with
the recommendation that the preamble, together with all the
conditions prescribed for the readmission of the state, be
struck out, and that a simple resolution be adopted providing
for the readmission of the state to representation.2 This was
the same as Beck's substitute. Every requirement of Con-
gress had been complied with. A constitution in harmony
with the reconstruction acts had been framed and ratified
almost unanimously. The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amend-
ments had been ratified by votes approaching unanimity.
State officers, members of the legislature, and representatives
and senators in Congress had been elected and were waiting
to enter upon the discharge of their duties. Notwithstand-
ing this, there were men in Congress who desired to impose
unreasonable conditions upon the people of the state, or keep
them under military rule. Butler in the House and Morton
in the Senate were the leaders of this party. They demanded
the reimposition of the old proscription features of the con-
stitution which had been overwhelmingly rejected at the polls
in 1869. They went even further, and imposed restrictions
which, in effect, deprived the state of its equality with the
original members of the Union. One of the conditions
imposed by the Butler bill denied to the state the power of
changing its organic law in certain particulars. Nothing
could have been more contrary to the spirit of the Federal
Constitution.
The debate over the readmission of Mississippi continued
at intervals for a period of two weeks, when Senator Sherman,
on February 17, gave notice that unless a vote was reached
very soon, he intended to antagonize other public measures
with the Mississippi bill. On the same day, the recommen-
dation of the judiciary committee was rejected by a vote of
32 to 27, and the main bill, as it came from the House, passed
by a vote of 50 to II.3 It was signed by the President on
February 23. And thus, after having been excluded, to all
intents and purposes, from the Union for a period of five
1 Globe, 2d Ses. 41st Cong. pt. i. p. 1014.
2 On January 31, Senator Morton had introduced a bill to readmit Missis-
sippi. On February 1, Senator Conkling introduced a similar bill. Both
were referred to the Committee on Judiciary, but were indefinitely postponed,
as the subject-matter was covered by the House bill.
8 Globe, supra, p. 1364.
274 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
years, during three of which it was treated as conquered terri-
tory, and held under military government, the state was re-
stored to the Union, but with conditions annexed which very
materially impaired its sovereignty, and left it far from being
on an equality with the original states of the Union. It is the
essence of a Federal system that the distribution of powers
among the constituent members shall be the act of the sover-
eign, and not of the government. Congress, in assuming the
power to deprive the state of the right to change its constitu-
tion of government in certain particulars, arrogated to itself
sovereign powers, and had it been able to enforce its com-
mands, the principle of the Federal system would have been
destroyed, and a league inter disparates left in its place.
Some of these limitations have been disregarded, and no one
doubts that the others may be set aside in the same way.
This is one of the numerous instances of the utter break-
down of the reconstruction policy.
Upon receipt of information that the President had ap-
proved the Mississippi bill, Mr. Henry Wilson presented the
credentials of Senator-elect Revels, and requested that they
be read and that he be sworn in. The Senator's credentials
bore the signature of Adelbert Ames, who styled himself
Brevet Major General U. S. A. and Provisional Governor of
Mississippi. They certified that Revels had been duly elected
a Senator of the United States by the legislature on January
20, 1870, for the unexpired term begining March 4, 1865, and
ending March 4, 1871. Immediately after the reading, Sena-
tor Saulsbury of Delaware raised an objection to the reception
of such evidence, and declared that the certificate of a military
officer was not such evidence as was required by law ; that Gen-
eral Ames, who styled himself provisional governor, was not
the true executive of Mississippi; that another person elected by
the legal voters of the state in accordance with the laws and
constitution, was the rightful governor, and the person whose
signature was required by act of Congress to be attached to
the credentials of senators elect. Senator Stockton offered a
resolution to refer the credentials of both Ames and Revels to
the judiciary committee with instructions to inquire and
report whether either or both had been citizens of the United
States nine years, and whether the former was not, for several
years prior to and at the time of his election, a commanding
officer in the army of the United States. This resolution was
discussed on the 24th and 25th of February, after which it
was rejected. A motion to administer the oath of office to
Senator Revels was then carried by a vote of 48 to 8, where-
BEADMISSION TO THE UKION 275
upon he was escorted to the desk by Mr. Wilson and sworn
in.1 The day on which Senator Revels took his seat, Mr.
Robertson presented the credentials of General Ames. They
were referred to the judiciary committee.2 On the 18th of
March, Senator Conkling, from the committee, reported back
a resolution that General Ames was not eligible to a seat in
the Senate of the United States. Senator Conkling took occa-
sion to say that had the question been one of sentiment, an
adverse report could have commanded no support, but that
inasmuch as the general had gone to Mississippi under mili-
tary orders, and remained there in obedience to the same, he
could not be considered a citizen of the state at the time of
his election.3
The debate on the resolution was able and lengthy, ex-
tending through a period of several weeks. The chief sup-
porters of General Ames were Senators Morton, Boutwell,
Edmunds, and Sherman. Bayard and Thurman led the op-
position. Much was said in regard to the form of the cre-
dentials which General Ames presented. They were as
follows : —
I, Adelbert Ames, Brevet Major General U. S. A., Provi-
sional Governor of Mississippi, do hereby certify that Adelbert
Ames was elected United States Senator by the legislature of this
state on the 18th day of January, 1870, for the unexpired term
which commenced on the 4th day of March, 1869, and which will
end on the 4th day of March, 1875.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused
the great seal of the state of Mississippi to be affixed this 25th
day of January, 1870.
A. AMES,
Brevet Major General U. S. Army,
Provisional Governor of Mississippi.
Although there was no evidence of irregularity or illegality
in thus certifying to his own election, it was, to be sure, an
1 Globe, 2d Ses. 41st Cong. pt. ii. p. 1568. It was said that the. demands
of poetic justice required that Senator Revels should be given the selfsame
seat which Jefferson Davis had occupied, but it appears that Davis's seat was
held by a Senator from Kansas who declined to surrender it.
2 Ibid, p. 1542.
8 Ibid. p. 1568. The Jackson Clarion preferred Revels to Ames as a Sena-
tor. In the issue of Jan. 20, 1870, it said Revels was a citizen of the state
and a registered voter, and would expect to return to Mississippi after the ex-
piration of his term, while General Ames did not have the slightest idea of
ever again being within her borders after crossing the Tennessee line on his
journey to Washington.
276 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
anomalous proceeding for a military commander, with the
vast power which he exercised, to declare himself elected to
the United States Senate. Nothing just like this had occurred
in the history of the United States. It was charged that he
had made use of his influence over the legislature to secure
his election.1 There is no evidence that General Ames was
not regularly and legally elected by the legislature, over which
he undoubtedly wielded great influence. But there can be
little doubt, on the other hand, that he was guilty of bad taste
in becoming a candidate, in view of the relationship which he
sustained. It was discreditable to him and the profession
in which he had honorably distinguished himself, that his
sense of propriety and his conviction of right did not lead
him to take another course. He owned no real property in
the state, paid little or no taxes for the support of the govern-
ment, knew little of the state and its needs ; in fact, was a
stranger to the people, and had little respect for their tastes,
habits, and prejudices. He was summoned before the judi-
ciary committee and asked as to his intention of making Mis-
sissippi his permanent residence at the time he became a
candidate. He replied : " Upon the success of the Republi-
can party in Mississippi, I was repeatedly approached to
become a candidate for the United States Senate. For a long
time I declined. I wrote letters declining. A number of
persons visited this city [Washington] to find arguments by
which I might be influenced to become a candidate. I hesi-
tated, because it would necessitate the abandonment of my
whole military life. Finally, for public and personal reasons,
I decided to become a candidate and leave the army. My
intentions were publicly declared and sincere. I even made
arrangements almost final and permanent with a person to
manage property I intended to buy." 2 He declared that it
was doubtful if he would have remained in the state and
made it his home had he failed of election to the Senate.3
The action of the Senate was hastened by a joint resolution
of the legislature, passed March 24, declaring it to be the
solemn judgment of that body that Senator Ames's election
was regular and legal, and requesting his immediate admis-
1 One of these charges was that he had placed the colored members of the
legislature under obligations to him by inviting them to a champagne party ;
another, that he had threatened to withhold their per diem in case of his
defeat ; another, that General Grant wanted him chosen, and that the state
would fail of readmission in the event of his failure to secure a seat in the
Senate. The charges do not seem to have been taken seriously. See Speech
of Garrett Davis, Globe, 2d Ses. 41st Cong. pt. ii. p. 2168.
2 Ibid. p. 2126. « ibid. p. 2130.
THE INAUGURATION OF A CIVIL GOVERNOR 277
sion.1 The report of the committee that he was not an inhab-
itant of the state at the time of his election, and was not,
therefore, eligible to a seat in the Senate, was rejected on
April 1 by a vote of 40 to 12. He was escorted to the desk
by Mr. Morrill, and sworn in.2 Neither Ames nor Revels pos-
sessed any of the qualities of the representative in the Ameri-
can sense of the term, and it was certainly straining a tech-
nicality to say that General Ames was a bona fide resident
of the state. He regarded himself as the special representa-
tive of the colored race, whose rights he had upheld while
military governor.3
The state having been admitted to the Union, and Alcorn
having qualified as civil governor, General Ames turned over
the government to him, and passed from the army into the
United States Senate. In thus exchanging a military career
for a civil one, he committed, according to his own admission,
the fatal error of his life. General Orders No. 25, dated
February 26, 1870, recited the facts relative to the readmis-
sion of the state to the Union, and announced that the com-
mand hitherto known as the fourth military district had
ceased to exist.
III. THE INAUGURATION OF A CIVIL GOVERNOR
It will be remembered that after ratifying the Fourteenth
and Fifteenth Amendments and electing United States sena-
tors, the legislature adjourned to await the action of Congress.
On the 8th of March, it reassembled, the state having in
the meantime been readmitted to the Union. On the 10th,
Mr. Alcorn, the first Republican civil governor, was inaugu-
rated, and received the "crown of civil government from the
hands of the conqueror." His inauguration marked the close
of military rule under which the state had existed for years.
Government by military commanders, provost marshals, and
1 Globe, 2d Ses. 41st Cong. p. 2314.
2 Ibid. p. 2349. Among the twelve senators who voted against seating
him were Conkling, Schurz, Edmunds, and Trumbull.
8 He said: "I found, when I was military governor of Mississippi that a
black code existed there, that negroes had no rights, and that they were
not permitted to exercise the rights of citizenship. I had given them the
protection they were entitled to under the laws, and I believed that I
could render them great service. I felt that I had a mission to perform
in their interest, and I hesitatingly consented to represent them and unite
my fortune with theirs." Testimony before Boutwell Committee, March
28, 1876, p. 17.
278 KECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
military commissions was no longer to exist. Legislative
enactments were to take the place of " general orders," and
the decrees and judgments of the courts were no longer liable
to be suspended by military commanders. The troops were
withdrawn from the state, with the exception of small detach-
ments at two or three of the larger towns, and the civil
authorities were left to perform their duties uninterfered with.
A large part of the governor's inaugural was of a personal
character. He spoke of his attachment to the state of Mis-
sissippi, of his long identification with the people, of his solici-
tude for their welfare ; he told of the sacrifice of conviction
which he had made in joining in the "madness which had
plunged the state into ruin " ; and spoke apologetically, as
he was so often wont to do, of his course in voting for the
ordinance of secession, and of his hearty acceptance of the
legal consequences which attached to his action. "Seces-
sion," he said, " I have ever denounced as a fallacy." " In
casting my lot with my own people in the late war, I did not
seek justification behind logical subtleties. When I said in
the secession convention, 'the Rubicon is crossed, I join the
army that moves to Rome,' I spoke not as a sophist, after the
fashion of Calhoun, but as a rebel, after the fashion of Csesar.1
I took the step in full view of the fact that it was one of
simple rebellion. In the exercise of the right of revolution, I
accepted all its risks with my eyes open to the fact that those
risks included, in both law and fact, the penalties attaching to
treason. And during even the first hour of defeat, when I
lay with my people crushed under the heels of thundering
armies, I accepted the fact that one end of the rope around
my neck and around their necks had been grasped by the
hands of a triumphant conqueror."
Few of the ex-Confederates were so ready as Alcorn to
acknowledge that their action was rebellion, or openly to
advocate the reconstruction policy. The majority of the
leaders advised cheerful acquiescence in, and obedience to, the
reconstruction measures, but the advice was not based on any
assertion that the measures were either wise or expedient.
Alcorn was almost alone in basing his action as a secessionist
on the right of revolution rather than on an inherent legal
power of a state to withdraw from the Union, and by force of
arms to maintain the separation permanently. He was equally
1 Relative to this declaration the Jackson Clarion of March 11, 1870, said
it would have been nearer the truth, in view of Alcorn 's military record, if he
had said he was a soldier after the fashion of Falstaff.
THE INAUGURATION OF A CIVIL GOVERNOR 279
alone among the prominent secessionists in the view that the
penalties which attached to his action were those of treason,
the common view being that as belligerents they were legally
incapable of committing treason against the United States.
Whether Alcorn's views were the result of honest convictions
or of policy there is a difference of opinion. He seems to
have been sincere in his professions. Of his attachment to
the people of the state, founded on long residence and identi-
fication of interests, there can be no doubt. He declared in
his inaugural that he was a Southern man in heart and soul.
" My affections," he said, " my interests, my habits of thought,
identify me indivisibly with the people of the South. The
conqueror of the armies in which one of my sons won a
major's star, and another a martyr's crown, is no more a sub-
ject of love with me than with any other Southern soldier.
The military government which I have the happiness to bow
out of the state was no more a subject of pleasure to me than
it was to any other Mississippian whose blood glows as mine
does with the instincts of self-government." With regard to
their new relation, and the hopefulness of the future, the
governor said : " The Union has brought us back, pardoned
children, into its bosom. It bids us go forward this day to
the reconstruction of a government on the ruins left by our
own madness. Restored to our lost place in the sisterhood of
states by the grace of the nation, that grace has brought us
back an equal among sovereigns. Erect and free, Missis-
sippi goes forward now to work out her destiny in a fellow-
ship of states, the peer of the proudest." He declared it to
be the duty of the government under the new regime to
extend its protection and encouragement to all the citizens
of the state, black as well as white. He announced emphati-
cally that the state government during his administration
would expend a large part of its energies and revenues in
educating the poor white and colored children of the state.
Those who were charged with setting in motion the machin-
ery of civil law were advised to " gauge every project of legis-
lation in the light of severe economy." The hope was
expressed that those " who were disposed to violate the law,
and persecute other citizens," would abandon their evil ways,
and thus save the expense of maintaining an armed militia.
He asserted positively that so long as he was governor, all
citizens, without respect to color or nativity, should be
"shielded by the law as with a panoply," and where neces-
sary, the militia should be called out and the people brought
to a sense of their obligations to society. Slavery, he said,
280 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
was dead, and the ballot box, the jury box, and the offices
of the state must be thrown open to the honest and competent
without distinction of color. Relative to his obligation to
the colored people for their political support, he said : " In
the face of memories that might have separated them from
me as the wronged from the wronger, they offered me their
confidence, offered me the guardianship of their new and
precious hopes with a trustfulness whose very mention stirs
my nerves with emotion. In response to that touching reli-
ance, the most profound anxiety with which I enter my office
as governor of this state is that of making the colored man
the equal, before the law, of every other man — the equal, not
in dead letter, but in living fact."1 He asserted that the
wealth, intelligence, and social influence of the state were, to
a large extent, arrayed against the spirit of the laws enacted
to secure these rights, consequently, the judges must be in
hearty accord with the policy of reconstruction. Before clos-
ing his inaugural address, he took occasion to pay his respects
to the Democratic party, whose theories, he said, were a
"system of brilliant fallacies, and whose speedy dissolution
was a consummation to be devoutly wished for by everr patriot
in the land."
Much uncertainty existed in the minds of the whites as to
whether Governor Alcorn would abandon his office for a seat
in the United States Senate and leave the government in the
hands of the " carpet baggers." Public meetings were held in
a number of places, arid resolutions adopted calling upon him
not to resign his office.2 It was said that with all of Alcorn's
radicalism he was a large property owner, and was disposed
to economy in the administration of the government, and that
his transfer to the Senate would mean the removal of the only
restraint upon those not inclined to economy. Notwithstand-
ing these representations, he resigned the office of governor
on the 30th of November, 1871, and passed into the Senate as
the successor of Dr. Revels, who now became president of the
new university for colored students. His transfer to the
Senate was said to be a political move by the " carpet
baggers," who desired a free hand in the state.3 Whatever
the facts of the case may be, if Alcorn was disposed to economy
' ' ''''"" *gHmm*Jb
' l Relative to the position of the class of poor whites before the war, the
governor said, "Thousands of our worthy white friends have ever remained
to a great extent strangers to the helping hand of the state." The Clarion
regarded this as a fling at the Democratic party.
2 Jackson Clarion, Nov. 8, 1870.
8 Lowry and McCardle's Hist, of Miss. p. 226.
REORGANIZATION UNDER THE CONSTITUTION 281
in the administration of the state government, his influence
does not seem to have counted for much, for the state expen-
ditures during his own term were as great if not greater than
during the term of his successor. In thus exchanging the
governorship for a place in the Senate, Alcorn was not ham-
pered by the embarrassment that confronted Ames in 1874,
for the lieutenant governor, instead of being an unpopular
colored man, was a worthy and honorable white man, and
although an ex-Union soldier, he was a bona fide resident of
the state, an extensive planter, and a conservative Republican
in his politics.1 Few of the " carpet baggers " won the respect
and confidence of the native whites to such an extent as did
Governor R. C. Powers.
IV. REORGANIZATION UNDER THE RECONSTRUCTION
CONSTITUTION
The organization of civil government under the recon-
struction constitution did not differ materially from the ante-
bellum type. It was more democratic, in that all distinctions
on account of color were forbidden, as well as all property
qualifications for jury service, and all property and educational
qualifications for suffrage. It was more democratic, perhaps,
in requiring less rigorous qualifications for office, especially
as regarded residence in the state. This constitution, moreover,
has the distinction of being the only one in Mississippi ever
submitted to the electorate for approval or rejection. The
absolute prohibition upon the legislature as regards loaning
the credit of the state, was a new and admirable provision, and
was of great service later on. Under the new constitution as
compared with the old, the powers of the governor were
greater, salaries in general were higher, and offices were
more numerous. An additional source of expense was a sub-
1 Governor Powers's experience as a reconstruction sheriff in Mississippi
convinced him, he says, that the reconstruction policy was little less than a
" national crime." In a letter to me, he says : " Over and above the wick-
edness of the Kukluxism and fraud and intimidation that were resorted to to
overthrow the congressional plan of reconstruction, there was a cause inher-
ent in the plan itself, and it was abandoned by its authors on this account.
Had the plan of reconstruction been based on sound principles of statesman-
ship, its friends would have stood by it, and the long train of evil and suffer-
ing that resulted from it would have been avoided. Without justifying any
of the crimes that were committed to overthrow reconstruction, it is eminently
proper that the historian who writes for future generations should point out
the crime concealed in the so-called congressional plan itself."
282 EECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
sidized press. The .jeconstructionists seem to have made no
attempt to change the type of local institutions which they
found in Mississippi, although there was an effort here and
there to inject into the administration new ideas, as illustrated
in the public school system, immigration bureau, etc. The
doctrine of laissez faire was not so scrupulously followed as
it had been in the days prior to the war. No complaint was
more general than that the reconstructionists governed too
much, and the charge was certainly not without foundation.
The official organization which they established was consider-
ably more elaborate than that which obtained before the war.
They provided for a lieutenant governor, a commissioner of
immigration and agriculture, a state superintendent of educa-
tion, a state board of education, a state board of equalization,
a state printer, district printers, special treasury agents, and
increased the number of judges threefold. They did not
abolish outright the system of private law which they found
in force, but through the Constitution reenacted, subject to
modification or repeal by the legislature, all laws not passed
in furtherance of secession and rebellion.1 Those about which
there was doubt were left to the action of the courts. Many
of those reenacted by the constituent assembly, however,
were repealed or modified by the legislature, so that, by
1875, an entirely new, but not a very different, system of
law had been built up. Much of the new legislation was
no improvement on that which was displaced ; some of it was
certainly unnecessary, but the belief seems to have been gen-
eral among the reconstructionists that they were legislating
for a totally different order of things, and for a new people,
hence the necessity for a new system of law.
The chief task of the first legislature, after reconstruction,
was to organize the system of " Republican " government, estab-
lished in pursuance of the acts of Congress. One of the first
measures provided for the organization of the new judicial
system. The old county probate courts were superseded by
a system of chancery courts, twenty in number, each to be
held by an officer styled a chancellor, appointed by the gov-
ernor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, for a term
of four years. A term of the court was to be held in each
county four times a year. The only qualification required of
the first incumbents was residence in the state six months.
Another new feature of the judicial machinery was provision
for a chancery clerk in each county. He was to be elected
1 Constitution, Art. XIV. Sec. 2.
EEORGANIZATION UNDER THE CONSTITUTION 283
by the people, and was to serve four years. All business
remaining undisposed of in the probate courts was transferred
to the new chancery courts.1
Fifteen circuit courts were established, each to be held by
a judge appointed by the governor, by and with the advice
and consent of the Senate, for a period of six years. Court
was to be held three times a year in each county, and
the first judges were not required to be residents of the
state.2 The old High Court of Errors and Appeals was
superseded by a Supreme Court consisting of three justices
appointed in the same manner as the circuit judges and
chancellors, for a term of nine years.3 Compared with judi-
cial establishment before the war, this was rather an elabo-
rate organization. It proved to be unnecessarily so, and was
modified slightly by the Republicans, and largely by the
Democrats after their restoration in 1876.
The judges appointed by Governor Alcorn were, for the
most part, Southern men, who, like himself had affiliated
with the RepubircaTT party since its organization in Missis-
sippi in 1867. The practical impossibility, however, of find-
ing competent Southern Republicans for high judicial stations,
compelled him to appoint several Northern men and some Dem-
ocrats. On the whole, it was a judiciary of fair ability. The
judges seem to have been men of official integrity, although
there were several whose lack of legal training prevented them
from securing the respect of the bar. One of these was noto-
riously incompetent, and was induced to resign his office.4
The justices of the Supreme Court appointed by Governor Al-
corn were, H. F. Simrall, E. G. Peyton, and Jonathan Tarbell.
Simrall and Peyton were both old citizens of the state, and
the latter was an active supporter of the Republican party.
1 Constitution of 1868, Art. VI. ; Act of May 4, 1870.
2 Ibid. Act of April 22, 1870.
8 Ibid. Act of April 2, 1870.
4 The chancellors appointed by Governor Alcorn were J. M. Ellis, O. H.
Whitfield, W. G. Henderson, A. E. Reynolds, G. S. McMillan, D. P. Coffy,
J. J. Hooker, E. Stafford, E. G. Peyton, D. N. Walker, Wesley Drane, T. R.
Gowen, Edwin Hill, E. W. Cabiniss, Austin Pollard, Thomas Christian,
De Witt Stearns, J. F. Simmons, Samuel Young, and Theodoric Lyon.
The circuit judges appointed by him were J. M. Smiley, M. D. Bradford,
W. M. Hancock, B. B. Boone, G. C. Chandler, A. Alderson, Uriah Millsaps,
Robert Leachman, J. A. Orr, 0. Davis, C. C. Shackleford, E. S. Fisher,
Jason Niles, W. B. Cunningham, and George F. Brown. Less than
half a dozen of these were "carpet baggers." Alcorn desired to appoint
Southern white men to all the offices, but was unable to withstand the press-
ure of the colored politicians and the "carpet baggers." The appointment
of Judge Tarbell was dictated by the Republicans of Northern birth, Alcorn's
favorite being Judge Niles of Kosciusko.
284 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
Both were jurists of high repute, and during the passions
and animosities of the time, they continued to enjoy the con-
fidence of both political parties. The same may be said of
Justice Tarbell, an ex-Union soldier from New York, who at
the close of the war settled in Scott County, and in 1869 be-
came probate judge by appointment from provisional gov-
ernor, General Ames. Judge Tarbell belonged to the better
class of " carpet baggers," was a man of fair ability and extraor-
dinary industry, a ready and voluminous writer, as his opin-
ions show, but he lacked experience and knowledge of the
state jurisprudence when he went upon the bench.1 Peyton
and Tarbell were the only Republicans that ever occupied
seats on the supreme bench of Mississippi. Their successors
have all been Democrats, and so were their predecessors, with
the exception of an occasional Whig in the ante-bellum period.
The local judiciary, consisting of two or more justices of
the peace in each supervisor's district, was reconstituted, and
its jurisdiction largely increased. The first incumbents were
to be appointed by the governor, and were to have jurisdic-
tion in civil cases where the amount in controversy did not
exceed $150, and concurrent jurisdiction with the circuit courts
in cases of assault and battery, petit larceny, insult and tres-
pass, attachments, actions of replevin, etc.2 The extension of
their jurisdiction in civil matters from cases involving $50,
the limit before the war, to $150, and the increased amount of
petty judicial business after the war, made the justice's courts
an important part of the judicial machinery of the state. The
system of county courts established in 1865 was abolished,
and the cases pending before them were transferred to the
circuit and justice's courts.3 The old county board of police
was superseded by the board of supervisors, an institution that
differed only in name from that which it displaced.4 County
organizations were not generally disturbed, although in one
or two instances there was a change of names where the old
name perpetuated memories which the radicals did not par-
ticularly cherish.5 A number of the large counties were
reduced in area, and six or eight new ones were created and
1 The late Justice L. Q. C. Lamar of the United States Supreme Court
says Tarbell was esteemed in Mississippi as an upright judge, and his reputa-
tion for integrity was unquestioned. See Mag. of Am. Hist. Vol. 18, p. 424.
After the overthrow of the Republicans and the expiration of his term, he
removed to Washington, where he died several years ago. Simrall is, at the
present writing, the only survivor. He is in his eighty-fourth year.
2 Laws of 1870, p. 80. 3 75^. p> g?. * Ibid. p. 81.
6 For example, the substitution of Jones County for Davis County, Lincoln
County for Lee County, and Ellisville for Leesburg, etc.
REORGANIZATION UNDER THE CONSTITUTION 285
given good loyal names, such as Lincoln, Sumner, Coif ax,
Union, etc. One of the reforms of the democracy after its
restoration was to find new names for some of these counties.1
There was a shifting of county seats in a number of instances,
although this does not seem to have had any political signifi-
cance. A reapportionment act was passed which had the
effect of depriving ten " white " counties of separate repre-
sentation in the legislature, they being consolidated with
other counties to form large legislative districts.2
Much of the legislation of the time related to the erection
and repair of state institutions which had either been de-
stroyed during the war or had fallen into decay. The state
university was reorganized by the removal of the board of
regents and the appointment of a new board. An investiga-
tion was instituted, with a view to the removal of the state
capitol from Jackson.3 Congress was memorialized to re-
move the disabilities of all citizens of the state who had not
been so relieved, and to grant the state two millions in money
and five million acres of land to aid in the restoration of the
levees. Provision was also made for the codification of the
laws.4
• Civil rights measures naturally constituted a no incon-
siderable part of the legislation of this period. All laws
relative to free negroes, slaves, and mulattoes, as found in
the Code of 1857, and the laws constituting the so-called
" Black Code," were declared to be forever repealed. It was
also declared to be the true intent and meaning of the legis-
lature to remove from the records of the state all laws of
whatever character, which in any manner recognized any
natural difference or distinctions between citizens or inhabit-
ants of the state, or discriminations on account of race or
color.6 All distinctions among citizens in drawing, selecting,
or summoning petit or grand juries were forbidden.6 It was
made unlawful for any person or corporation controlling
railroads, steamboats, or stage-coaches to discriminate in any
manner against any passenger, and the law imposed a penalty
1 This was the case with Sumner County, which was changed to Webster,
and Colfax, which was given the name of. Clay.
2 Testimony of J. F. Sessions, Kuklux Report, p. 207. The operation of
the act is well illustrated in the cases of Wayne and Warren counties. The
former, a "white" county, had no separate representative, while the latter,
with a large black majority, had five, the fifth being given for a fraction of
seven hundred people. 3 Laws of 1870, p. 648.
4 The commissioners appointed in pursuance of this act were J. A. P.
Campbell, A. R. Johnson, and A. Levering, all Democrats.
6 Laws of 1870, p. 73. • Ibid. p. 88.
286 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
not exceeding $5000 on any conductor who should attempt to
compel any passenger on account of race or color to occupy
a particular part of the conveyance.1 The right of negroes
to seats in theatres, without respect to the particular location
of any seat, was upheld by the state Supreme Court.2
The first session of the first reconstruction legislature in
Mississippi was the longest in duration of any in the histoiy
of the state. It continued from January 11 to July 21, with
the exception of the month of February and a week in
March. The Democrats allege that few or no attempts were
made to expedite business, and the allegation was not entirely
without foundation. The whole body of Democratic legisla-
tion was overhauled, and little of it was thought worthy of
retention.3 The increase of the citizenship and the some-
what chaotic condition of the laws incident to the great revo-
lution no doubt increased the necessities for legislation.
This should, therefore, be taken into consideration in framing
an intelligent estimate of the comparative cost of govern-
ment before and after the war. The expenses of the legisla-
tive department were nearly three times those of 1865.4
A session of six months in 1870, however, was not suffi-
cient to reorganize the state government and enact sufficient
legislation for the needs of the state, and accordingly the
legislature met again January 3, 1871. During the recess
four members had died, among the number being the speaker,
Dr. Franklin, of Yazoo County. The House organized by
the election to the speakership of Mr. H. W. Warren, a white
man lately from Massachusetts. He sat for Leake County.
The colored Republicans, although in the majority, were not
at this time so demoralized by their greed for office that a
black skin was an indispensable qualification for the speaker
who presided over their deliberations. Accordingly they con-
sented to the election of a " loyal " white man. Subsequently,
their views of the rights of the colored race in this respect
were modified.
1 Laws of 1870, p. 104. Upon request of Governor Alcorn the presidents
of the several railroads in Mississippi met the colored members of the legis-
lature at the executive mansion for the purpose of settling, if possible, the
question of equal rights on the railroad trains without recourse to legislative
action. The colored members demanded that orders be issued to all conduct-
ors to grant equal privileges to all passengers without respect to race or color.
The railroad managers offered to provide separate cars with equal accommo-
dations. The negroes rejected the proposition, whereupon Alcorn lectured
them upon their refusal, and plainly told them that a law embodying their
demands could not be enforced without bloodshed. Clarion, Feb. 17, 1871.
2 Donnell vs. the State, 48 Miss. 661. 4 Auditor's Report, 1871, Doc. G.
8 The total number of acts and resolutions passed was 325.
REORGANIZATION UNDER THE CONSTITUTION
287
The governor in his annual message commended the legis-
lation of the previous session, and declared that when it was
remembered that many of the members had lately been "in-
ducted into freedom," and that few had ever sat in a delibera-
tive assembly, their work showed a moderation and wisdom
highly creditable. He indulged in some sarcastic allusions
to the character of the customary ante-bellum executive mes-
sage to the legislature, asserted that the " speculative states-
manship of the South, having had its day and its result," he
would not follow precedent and devote himself to the prin-
ciples of government but to questions which more directly
concerned them. He advised the legislature that as their
" rights in the territories had occupied the attention of previ-
ous legislatures, somewhat in excess of wise policy," they
should devote themselves to the more practical work of gath-
ering up and rebuilding whatever those abstractions may
have left of their rights at home. He informed the legisla-
ture that he had not accepted the facts of reconstruction with-
out more or less misgivings, but to satisfy himself of the
wisdom of the policy of Congress, he had instituted a series
of investigations into the capacity of the colored people for
44 well-ordered freedom." The results of his inquiries into the
marriage relations of the blacks were in the highest degree
encouraging to the reconstructionists. Both the constitutions
of 1865 and 1868 dignified those of the colored race who had
cohabited together by giving them the legal status of hus-
band and wife. It had been feared that the negroes would
continue the practice of cohabitation without taking out mar-
riage licenses. Quite the reverse, however, proved true.
The dignity of marriage by a minister rather appealed to the
negro's sense of pride. It implied a sense of equality with
the whites which they were not slow to appreciate. The re-
sult was that the proportion of marriages among them after
1865 was nearly as large as among the whites.1 From this
the governor felt satisfied that the colored people were striv-
1 The following results are tabulated from the investigations in thirty-one
counties : —
CLASS
POPULATION IN
MARRIAGE LICENSES ISSUED
1860
1865
1866
1867
1868
1869
1870
Whites
189,645
239,930
2708
564
3129
3679
2829
3524
2546
2802
2655
3584
2204
3427
Blacks
288 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
ing " to rise to the moral level of their new standing before
the law, to the extent of a strict adherence to the formularies
of sexual proprieties." A recent act of the legislature raising
the fee for marriage licenses from one to three dollars was
criticised as a " blow not only at the virtue of the poor whites,
but at the successful organization of the colored people on
the basis of a free civilized society."
Governor Alcorn affirmed that the results of his investiga-
tions established the general good faith of the freedmen with
regard to their marital relations. Unfortunately, however,
there were so many exceptions to this during the early years
of their freedom that the condition of society did not present
a very hopeful aspect. But the provision for public schools,
the multiplication of the number of ministers, and the in-
crease of religious institutions vastly elevated their sense of
the sanctity of the marriage contract. In no respect did the
* colored race show greater signs of improvement than in the
increase of their religious organizations. In twenty-five coun-
ties the number of churches built by the negroes increased
from 105 in 1865 to 283 in 1870, while the number of min-
isters increased from 73 to 262.
. With regard to industrial pursuits, there were the same
evidences of progress. In seventeen counties the number
of shoemakers' shops owned by the negroes increased from
21 in 1865 to 63 in 1870, and the number of blacksmith shops
from 40 to 113.
Along, however, with the industrial progress of the negro,
went an enormous increase in the amount of crime, which
Governor Alcorn thought showed a "degree of barbarism
truly shocking." l Much of this Governor Alcorn attributed
to the " barbarous practice " of carrying deadly weapons,
which was almost universal among both races in the South
at this time. He recommended drastic legislation to prevent
this " outrage on civil society."
The most important legislation of 1871 related to the lease
of the penitentiary and the encouragement of railroad build-
ing. The provision for the lease of the penitentiary was the
subject of much censure by the Democrats.2 The act to
encourage railroad building provided that any railroad com-
1 In a letter to the New York Tribune Governor Alcorn said 124 murders
had been committed in the state from April, 1869, to March, 1871. In a de-
spatch to Senator Ames in April, 1871, he said the auditor's books showed
48 murders within the last three months, and there were known to be 15
cases not reported. Clarion, April 11, 1871.
2 Testimony of J. F. Sessions, Kuklux Report, p. 208.
REORGANIZATION UNDER THE CONSTITUTION 289
pany which would construct twenty -five miles of road within
the limits of the state and have it equipped and in good run-
ning order by the first of September, 1872, should receive
from the state the sum of $4000 per mile for each mile so
constructed.1 The stock which the state held in the various
railroads of the state was donated to the New Orleans, Jack-
son, and Great Northern railroad. The amount was about
$250,000. It appears that when the charter was first granted
to the road, it was upon condition that the company was to build
a branch from Canton to Aberdeen by way of Kosciusko, other-
wise the charter was to be forfeited. Upon the expiration of the
period named, the extension had not been made, and the charter
consequently fell. The legislature at this session renewed
the charter, required the company to complete the branch to
Kosciusko within two years, and to Aberdeen within five years.
The same act surrendered to this road all railroad stock held
by the state, provided the people living along the line would
contribute $7500 per mile.2 The measure was opposed by all
the Democratic members, except those who lived on the line
of the proposed extension, as a piece of unnecessary extrava-
gance and favoritism.3 The Republicans, on the other hand,
contended that unless state aid was given to the road it would
go into bankruptcy, and the state would lose all its stock.4
On the 13th of May the legislature adjourned, having been
in session since January 3, making a total legislative session of
ten months and a half in 1870 and 1871. The Republican
members asserted that the legislative needs of the states
called for long and frequent sessions ; the Democratic mem-
bers asserted that the per diem method of compensation was
the true reason.6
1 Laws of 1870, p. 745. Under this provision the Ripley Railroad Com-
pany became entitled to $81,000 from the state. The auditor acting upon
the advice of the attorney general declined to issue the warrants for the
amount. It was charged that upon receiving a bribe of $6000 the attorney
general withdrew his objections — a joint committee of the legislature upon
investigation reported that the "robes of the attorney general were tainted."
See Clarion of March 20, 1873.
2 Laws of 1871, p. 177.
8 Testimony of J. F. Sessions, Kuklux Report, p. 213.
* Testimony of O. C. French, ibid. p. 22.
5 The compensation was $7 per day and 20 cents per mile going to and
from the seat of government. After an agreement to adjourn had been
reached, four members drew up a long protest, declaring that they ought not
to abandon their posts ; that it was their duty to work ' ' diligently and con-
siderately, deliberately, dispassionately, moderately, and without too much
haste." See House Journal of 1871, pp. 823-826.
CHAPTER EIGHTH
THE " CARPET-BAG " REGIME
I. THE ELECTION OP GENERAL AMES AS CIVIL GOVERNOR
IN 1873, the year of the state election, General Ames was
serving in the United States Senate. In this field, he
achieved no particular distinction.1 He was a member of
the committee on military affairs, and introduced a number
of measures affecting the army, one of which had in view
the opening of all branches of military service to colored
people and the abolition of all distinctions therein on ac-
count of race or color. He made an ineffectual attempt to
have Hon. Robert A. Hill, United States district judge,
removed from office in order to secure the position for a
friend. The reason alleged for his action was that Judge
Hill's Southern sympathies prevented him from impartially
enforcing the Kuklux Act.2 The only measure which Sen-
ator Ames supported with any marked ability was the bill
to extend the provisions of the Kuklux Act. This he did
in a set speech on the 20th of May, 1872, devoting much of
his time to a defence of the " carpet bagger " in general, and
of himself in particular. He declared with pride that he
had fought his way to Mississippi during the war by his
1 General Ames acknowledges that he was little " versed in civil affairs."
See Globe, 1st Ses. 42d Cong. p. 570. He writes me under date of Jan. 17,
1900: "I am frank to confess that I was poorly equipped for the position of sena-
tor. While in the Senate I devoted myself mainly to the Southern question."
Relative to his abandonment of the army for a civil career, he says : u That I
should have taken a political office seems almost inexplicable. My explana-
tion may seem ludicrous now, but then it seemed to me that I had a mission,
with a large M. Because of my course as military governor, the colored men
of the state had confidence in me, and I was convinced that I could help to
guide them successfully, keep men of doubtful integrity from control, and
the more certainly accomplish what was every patriot's wish — the enfran-
chisement of the colored men and the pacification of the country."
2 General Ames subsequently admitted that he had been misled as to Judge
Hill, and always regretted his action. Letter to Attorney General of the
United States, Correspondence of Governor Ames, 1874, p. 48.
290
ELECTION OF GENEEAL AMES AS GOVERNOR 291
own right arm, through much blood and over many battle-
fields, and asserted that he had a right to go there and to
stay there.1 This was in reply to an attack by his new col-
league, Senator Alcorn, who had now entered the Senate as
the successor of Senator Revels. Alcorn was an old resi-
dent who had emigrated to Mississippi from Illinois many
years before the war.2 He was a wealthy planter of fine
personal appearance, a man of inordinate vanity, somewhat
imperious in disposition, and, as the debates show, possessed
some forensic ability. He had served a few weeks in the
state militia during the war, in whose cause he had little
faith, and to the success of which he gave but a lukewarm
support.3 He had been an old-line Whig in politics, but
voted for the ordinance of secession, an act for which he-
never ceased to apologize. After the enactment of the
reconstruction measures, he joined the Republican party,
believing it to be the duty of the whites to accept unreserv-
edly the policy of Congress and, if possible, get control of the
negro vote ; but having a substantial interest in the state,
and being a popular stump orator, and an ex-slaveholder, he
succeeded in gaining in a large measure the confidence of
the native whites, which General Ames was never able to
do. General Ames's attempt to dispute with Senator Alcorn
the leadership of the party in Mississippi called down upon
him the hostility of his colleague, who denounced him in the
Senate in the most unmeasured terms, and otherwise treated
him with an air of contempt.4 In a speech on the Kuklux
bill, delivered May 20, 1872, Senator Alcorn charged Gen-
eral Ames with having taken advantage of his position " to
seize a senatorial toga before taking off his military coat."
He said : " My colleague is not connected with my state by
any of the ties that make up the reality of the representative.
He is not a citizen of Mississippi. He has never contributed
a dollar to her taxes. He is not identified with her to the
1 Globe, supra. Appendix, p. 393.
2 General Ames said of him : "My colleague went from a free country
earlier than I did. He is one of the natives. He is one of the high-toned,
chivalric gentlemen of the state. On the other hand, I am simply from
Yankeedom." Globe, supra, p. 393.
8 He is reported as saying that he rejoiced when the flag of the Confeder-
acy fell. Clarion, July 3, 1869.
4 General Ames had been in Mississippi but a short time before the breach
occurred between him and Alcorn. In a letter of March 30, 1871, to C. F.
Norris, a colored member of the legislature, Ames charged Alcorn with not
protecting the negroes, but allowing them to be killed by " tens and hun-
dreds," and with " gaining power and favor from the democracy at the price
of blood, and that, the blood of his friends."
292 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
extent of even a technical residence." The mutual hostility
of the two senators ended in an appeal of each to the Repub-
lican party of the state for an indorsement of his course.
Each became a candidate for governor. Ames succeeded in
securing the regular nomination of the party, receiving five
times as many votes as Alcorn in the convention. Alcorn's
adherents bolted and nominated a state ticket in opposition
to Ames. The nominees were about equally divided be-
tween Northern and Southern Republicans. The ticket con-
tained the name of one colored candidate, the Rev. T. W.
Stringer, a member of the legislature from Adams County.
Alcorn at once challenged Ames to meet him in debate at
Jackson, but the general, knowing that as a stump orator
he was no match for the " Sage of Coahoma," declined, on
the ground that Alcorn was not a regular nominee of any
political party.1 In a public speech at Jackson August 29,
Alcorn announced his candidacy and his platform. He gave
an account of his record in the Senate, told the negroes that
v he had secured for them the right to ride in railroad cars
* with white people, declared that he had appointed many
§ood men to office, and some bad ones, also, and denounced
enator Ames as the most vindictive man in Congress.2
Ames received the almost unanimous support of the negro
voters, who were grateful to him for his course as military
governor. He was, likewise, the choice of the " carpet-bag "
element, which was not very strong numerically, but potent
in influence. Alcorn was supported for the most part by
the native white Republicans and by the Democrats, who had
no regular ticket in the field, the Democratic state convention
at Meridian having declared it "inexpedient" to make a
nomination, meaning thereby that it was useless to do so.
As between the two Republican candidates, they preferred
Alcorn as the lesser of two evils, and therefore gave him a
feeble support. The result was the election of Ames by a
large majority.3 On the ticket with Governor Ames were
the names of three negroes, A. K. Davis, for lieutenant
1 Jackson Clarion, Sept. 4, 1873.
2 Ibid.
8 The exact vote was Ames, 69,870 ; Alcorn, 60,490. As early as the 16th
of January, 1873, the Hinds County Gazette predicted that Aines would be
the next governor of Mississippi, and that Ham Carter (colored) would be
lieutenant governor, and eventually governor, as Ames would be chosen to
the Senate after a short term as chief executive. The Jackson Clarion of
May 15, 1873, said Ames was the favorite for governor against all comers.
The Prairie News (Republican) said his nomination was essential to the suc-
cess of the party.
ELECTION OP GENERAL AMES AS GOVERNOR 293
gDvernor; James Hill, for secretary of state; and T. W.
ordoza, for superintendent of education.
The belief among the colored voters that they had not
secured their proper share of the state offices in 1870, led
them practically to establish a " color line " before the next
election. In the state convention of 1873, they demanded
that at least three of the seven state offices should go to
colored men, and the Warren County delegates are alleged
to have mounted the desks in the convention hall, and with
pistols drawn declared that one of the three candidates must
come from Vicksburg.1 Their argument was that colored
men did the voting and were, therefore, entitled to the
offices.2
They were strong enough numerically to enforce their
demands, and as the state superintendent of education, a
white " carpet bagger " of undoubted competency, happened
to be a resident of Vicksburg, he was set aside for a negro
whose chief qualification was the color of his skin. It was
a common remark that this marked the beginning of the
downfall of Governor Ames in Mississippi. Davis and
Cordoza hung like millstones about his neck, and by their
dishonesty, incompetency, and bad counsel, which he too
often accepted, did much to make the administration odious
in the eyes of the whites.3 The colored secretary of state
1 Columbus Free Press of Aug. 7, 1875 (a Republican paper edited by two
Northern gentlemen, Lewis and Bliss). " Let him dispute it who will," this
paper declared, "it is no less true that there are in the Republican ranks,
scores of colored men who are just as determined to establish a color line and
run nobody but colored men for office, as there are of white men who are
bent on establishing a white line." " This policy has finally brought the Re-
publican party, not only of the South but of the nation, up to the very verge
of destruction." General Ames writes me that this charge was, no doubt,
true. He says, "The demands of the colored delegates for state offices
seemed to be irresistible, especially for lieutenant governor."
2 The Vicksburg Plaindealer, a radical sheet published by a negro, de-
clared that McKee, Pease, Wells, and other white men had always insisted
on holding the offices, while the colored men did the voting, but that " this
thing had played out."
8 Cordoza, at the time of his nomination, was under indictment fpr larceny
at Brooklyn, New York. A copy of the indictment is printed in the Jackson
Clarion of Aug. 13, 1874. It is signed by Benjamin F. Tracy, United States
District Attorney for the eastern district of New York. Charles Nordhoff, a
staff correspondent of the New York Herald, relates that while in New
Orleans, some one, knowing that he was interested in schools, gave him a let-
ter of introduction to Superintendent Cordoza. On asking for him in Jack-
son, he was told that the superintendent had gone to Vicksburg to look after
an indictment that had been found against him. When he himself went
there, he found that Cordoza was not merely indicted, but, as an indignant
Republican put it, he was "shingled " all over with indictments for embezzle-
ment and fraud, and likely to go to the penitentiary if justice was done.
294 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
was a competent officer, and succeeded in escaping the im-
peachments of the democracy in 1876.
II. THE INAUGURATION OF THE AMES ADMINISTRATION
The inauguration of Governor Ames took place January
22, 1874. It is the testimony of his political opponents that
he made a favorable impression upon those who witnessed
the inaugural ceremonies.1 Many such expressed their
intention of supporting him in his determination, publicly
declared, to give the people of Mississippi an honest and
economical administration.2 They knew little of the new
governor. Few, in fact, had ever seen him except as a
uniformed commander setting aside the verdicts of their
juries and the decrees of their courts. To the great mass
of the people he was known only as the cruel " Yankee "
who had put the " nigger " in the jury box, removed their
governor, and ejected his family from the mansion. He
now stood before them in civilian dress as their civil gov-
ernor, and in his inaugural address pledged them that, as far
as lay in his power, they should have an administration
marked by economy and reform.3
The legislature elected in 1873 was overwhelmingly
Republican, and was otherwise the most interesting of the
post-bellum legislative bodies in Mississippi. Politically, the
Senate was composed of twelve Democrats and twenty-five
Republicans ; the House had thirty-six Democrats, seventy-
seven Republicans, and several Independents. The Senate
contained nine colored members and nine white "carpet
baggers." In the House, there were fifty-five colored, and
sixty white members, the " carpet-bag " element having fif-
teen representatives. Adams County was represented in
the Senate by a dull but honest colored minister ; in the
House, by three colored members of little education, and by
a white ex-Union soldier from Ohio. Hinds, the county in
which the state capital is located, had an illiterate negro
senator, and three negro representatives. Noxubee, one of
the largest counties of east Mississippi, had an extremely
1 Letter of George E. Harris to President U. S. Grant, Report Sen. Sub.
Committee on Mississippi elections, 1876, p. 591.
2 Governor Ames said shortly afterward that he intended to make Missis-
sippi the exception among the reconstructed states, and wanted it to escape
the condition of South Carolina and Louisiana. Correspondence for 1874,
p. 66.
8 Inaugural Address, Jan. 22, 1874.
INAUGUKATION OF THE AMES ADMINISTRATION 295
black and ignorant senator. He was, however, honest, and
had been a member of the legislature continuously since
1868, and was not even retired by the "revolution of 1875."
In the House, Noxubee was represented by one negro and
two white men, both of whom were Republicans. Warren,
the county of which Vicksburg is the chief city, had as sen-
ators a negro and a Northern white man ; in the House,
Warren had three representatives, all negroes. Lowndes
had a negro senator of little education, but of some natural
ability, a good speaker, and a man of considerable wealth.
He had been a slave up to the close of the Civil War.
Lowndes was represented in the House by two negroes and
one white Republican. Marshall and Chickasaw had negro
senators. Wilkinson, Bolivar, and Washington, large river
counties, were each represented in the Senate by negroes of
fair intelligence. Yazoo County had three negro representa-
tives ; Holmes, three ; Marshall, three ; Panola, Jefferson,
Lowndes, Madison, Rankin, Washington, and Issaquena, two
each ; while many other counties had one each. There were
a number of whites of poor ability, some of whom were Demo-
crats, some Republicans.
The legislature met in January, and the House organized
by the election of a negro member named Shadd, from Adams
County, to the speakership. In the first reconstruction legis-
lature, the colored members consented to have a white man
preside over their deliberations, but afterward, as long as
they were in power, with a temporary exception in 1873, a
black skin was an indispensable qualification for the office
of speaker, another illustration of their greed for political
power.1 It is not to be supposed, however, that all the col-
ored speakers were men of ignorance and incompetency.
Hon. John R. Lynch, the speaker in 1872, was a notable
exception. He presided over the deliberations of the House
1 Relative to the course of the colored members in this legislature, a promi-
nent Democrat writes me as follows : " In my opinion, if they had all been
native Southern negroes, there would have been little cause of complaint.
They often wanted to vote with Democrats on non-political questions, but
could not resist the party lash. The majority of whites of both parties ex-
hibit the same weakness." With a few exceptions, the colored members
took little part in the work of legislation, although some of the principal
chairmanships were held by them. They were inclined to interrupt the pro-
ceedings with motions and points of order, were particularly sensitive on the
subject of civil rights, and often objected to Democratic measures on the gen-
eral assumption that their purpose was the abridgment of the privileges of the
negro race. Frequent objections were made to the conduct of newspaper
reporters in designating the negro members as "colored," and refusing to
prefix " Mr." to their names.
296 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
with dignity and impartiality, a fact to which his politi-
cal opponents bore testimony upon his retirement.1 He
was a slave at the close of the war, became a justice of the
peace by appointment from General Ames in 1869, and in
1873, was elected to Congress, where he served two terms.
He presided over the Republican national convention in
1884, and is at present a paymaster in the United States
army. He is one of the most intelligent men of his race,
is conservative in his views, and distinctly Caucasian in his
habits.
Governor Ames followed up the promise made in his
inaugural address with a special message on the subject of
the state's finances, in which he recommended several reforms.
Taxes were higher at this time than ever before in the his-
tory of the state, having increased from one mill on the dol-
lar in 1869 to fourteen in 1874. 2 The credit of the state
was impaired, and the annual expenses of the government
exceeded by one-fifth the receipts, while state paper was
hawked about the streets and sold at from 20 to 40 per cent
discount. The governor recommended a return to a cash
basis, which he said would save the state 25 per cent in the
cost of administering the government, or at least §300,000
annually. He recommended also that appropriations be cut
down 25 per cent. He declared with truth that there were
opportunities for curtailment in every branch of the govern-
ment; that 850,000 could easily be saved in the cost of
administering the judiciary, without impairing its efficiency,
by a modification of the law relative to the compensation
of jurors ; and that the expense of maintaining the uni-
versity and supervising the public schools might be reduced
in like manner. He said : " The average cost of the legis-
lature per day is $1800. The annual sessions are long
drawn out, the average cost of a sixty days' session being
over 8100,000, aside from public printing." He recommended
a change in the per diem mode of compensation for the
legislature, provision for equalization of assessments through-
1 At the close of the session, the House presented Speaker Lynch with a
gold watch and chain. Upon motion of a prominent white Democrat, a reso-
lution was adopted thanking him for his "dignity, impartiality, and cour-
tesy" as a presiding officer. The Clarion bore testimony to his impartiality
as a speaker in the following words : " His bearing in office had been so
proper, and his rulings in such marked contrast to the partisan conduct of the
ignoble whites of his party who have aspired to be leaders of the blacks, that
the conservatives cheerfully joined in the testimonial." Issue of April 24,
1873.
2 Report of W. H. Gibbs, state auditor, 1876.
INAUGURATION OF THE AMES ADMINISTRATION 297
out the state, and begged for the earnest support and coop-
eration of the legislature in his effort to bring about financial
relief.1
These recommendations were undoubtedly wise and prac-
ticable. They do credit to the governor who made them.
They do not sound like the utterances of a " carpet bagger "
bent on peculation and plunder. They rather indicate that
\Ames had some knowledge of the needs of the state and
some interest in its welfare.2 Soon after the meeting of the
legislature, an able and respectful address drafted by a state
convention of taxpayers was laid before the two Houses.
The address called attention to the alleged abuses of the
state government, its wastefulness and extravagance, com-
pared the expenses of administering the government before
and after the war, and contained a number of recommenda-
tions looking toward economy.3 But the legislature to
which these recommendations were addressed did not seem
to favor reform.
Early in the summer, Governor Ames, according to his
custom, went North to spend his vacation, leaving the negro
lieutenant governor in charge of the government. The gov-
ernor remained away from the state one and a half or two
months, during which time Davis proved conclusively that
the office of lieutenant governor is something more than an
empty honor if only the incumbent is given a chance.4 A
1 Special message to the legislature, p. 4.
2 A prominent Democrat, who was a member of the legislature in 1874 and
subsequently Speaker of the House, writes me that Governor Ames was un-
doubtedly more favorable to economy and reform than was the majority of
this legislature.
8 This address is printed in full in the Boutwell Report, p. 456 et seq. ; in
the Report of the Senate Sub-Committee on Mississippi Elections, p. 848-854 ;
and in James Lynch's Kemper County Vindicated, Appendix. Hon. George
C. McKee, a Republican member of Congress from Mississippi at the time,
declared this to be the " ablest paper" he had seen in Mississippi for years.
He warned the members of the legislature that there was no fear of cutting
too deep. " The evil," said he, " is too enormous. The petition of the tax-
payer's convention should be heeded." See Report of Senate Sub-Com-
mittee, p. 601. The Democratic tax-payers were not the only persons to
protest against the heavy burdens imposed by the state government. On the
16th of October, the day before the meeting of the legislature, the Jackson
Republican Club unanimously adopted a series of resolutions deprecating
" the heavy burdens under which the people of Mississippi are now groan-
ing," and declared that they could be safely reduced without impairing the
efficiency of the government. They respectfully petitioned the legislature to
abolish annual sessions, reduce by one-half the number of circuit judges
and chancellors, reduce the expenses of printing at least $75,000 annually,
and appropriate nothing for the support of the militia.
* Davis had somewhat exaggerated ideas of the importance of the lieuten-
ant governor in the administration of the government. He expected the
298 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
breach had already occurred between the governor and the
lieutenant governor, the latter, according to the opinion of
the governor, having gone over to the "sore heads."
Lieutenant Governor Davis, upon assuming control, at
once discharged the employees about the capitol and ap-
pointed his friends to their places. He then dismissed the
governor's private secretary, and next proceeded to appoint
chancellors for several judicial districts, although Governor
Ames, foreseeing the occurrences of these vacancies during
his absence, had already made provision for filling them
before leaving the state. Davis held that the governor
could not legally make appointments before the vacancies
had actually occurred, but in this view was not sustained by
the attorney general.1 Governor Ames, upon returning to
the state, at once revoked the appointments made by Davis,
and recommissioned those whom he had formerly appointed.
This was one of the grounds of his impeachment. Another
way in which the lieutenant governor made good use of his
opportunities was by dispensing pardons to his colored
friends who languished in the county jails or penitentiary,
or who were under indictment and likely to be sent there.
From June 15 to July 25, Davis issued twenty-three par-
dons, commutations, and remissions of forfeiture. Governor
Ames was again absent for a month in the autumn, during
which time the lieutenant governor granted thirty-four
pardons, six remissions of forfeiture, and six commutations
of sentence.2
The following is the record of both the governor and the
governor to call him to the executive chair when the latter was away from
the capital, no matter how brief the absence. On one occasion, Governor
Ames had gone to the Gulf coast, his route taking him across the corner of
Louisiana. The lieutenant governor was highly offended because he had not
been called to Jackson to assume the government, and telegraphed a friend
in New Orleans inquiring if Governor Ames was in that city. Upon
receiving an affirmative answer, Davis proceeded to the office and ordered
the governor's private secretary to open the door and make out com-
missions for some friends whom he desired to have appointed to office.
The door was shut in his face, and the alleged insult became the sub-
ject of some interesting correspondence between the governor and the
lieutenant governor. See correspondence of Governor Ames, 1874, p. 7.
Governor Ames's continued absence from the state was the subject of
great complaint.
1 Opinion in Jackson Pilot, July 11, 1874.
2 Jan. 1, 1875, Governor Ames writes Davis : " Sir : Pardons having been
issued by you while acting governor of Mississippi in the enclosed list of sixty
cases, and not being in possession of your reasons therefor, I am unable to
report the same to the legislature as required by law. Will you please state
in writing your reasons for pardon in each case ? " Correspondence of
Ames, 1875,
INAUGURATION OF THE AMES ADMINISTRATION 299
lieutenant governor for the first year of the administration,
namely, from January 22, 1874, to January 4, 1875 : —
Pardoned out of the penitentiary ....
Pardoned out of the county jails ....
Ames, 18
9
" 0
Davis, 32
4
" 17
" 5
" 6
" 4
" 6
Total
" 36
" 65
It will be seen from the foregoing exhibit that a number of
pardons issued by Davis were granted to criminals before
trial — a practice which Governor Ames declares to have
been abhorrent to his sense of justice, and one to which he
never resorted. It was proved to the satisfaction of the legis-
lature in 1876 that Davis accepted a bribe of $800 for par-
doning a criminal sent up from Lowndes County for murder.
For this he was removed from office. It should also in this
connection be said that Governor Ames himself did not
entirely escape from the charge of abusing the pardoning
power.1
One of the chief subjects of criticism against the adminis-
tration of Ames was his course in regard to the judiciary.
At the time of his election, twenty circuit judges and as many
chancellors constituted the judiciary of Mississippi. They
were appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of
the Senate, the former for six }^ears, and the latter for four.2
It thus happened that the terms of all the chancellors
appointed by Governor Alcorn in 1870 expired during the
spring and summer of 1874. Instead of nominating their
successors for the confirmation of the Senate, in anticipation
of the vacancies, while that body was in session, Governor
Ames waited until after its adjournment, and then nominated
and commissioned the new chancellors with the intention, it
was charged, of controlling them by removing those whose
decisions and actions were not in accord with his own views.
1 Almost his last official act as governor of the state was the issue of a par-
don to Alex. Smith on March 11, 1876. Smith was sent to the penitentiary for
life for the crime of rape. The grant of a pardon in this case constituted the
twenty-second article of impeachment. It charged that pardon was issued
upon representation made by two of the governor's personal friends who had
no knowledge of the facts, and to whom it was alleged Smith paid $3000 for
using their influence with the executive. Smith was prosecuted by a Repub-
lican district attorney and sentenced by a Republican judge. Impeachment
Testimony, pp. 49, 50. 2 Constitution, 1868, Art. VI.
300 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
In short, he purposed to hold their appointments over them
in terrorem, and make the judiciary " subservient to his cor-
rupt and partisan purposes, and thereby destroy its inde-
pendence." 1 In pursuing this course, Governor Ames seems
to have brought down upon himself not only the criticism
of the Democrats, but of the more respectable Republicans
as well.2 His action was, to say the least, a violation of the
spirit of the Constitution, which required the advice and con-
sent of the Senate to judicial appointments. Moreover, every
consideration of courtesy to the Senate and for the proprie-
ties of official life required him to consult that body. To
this should also be added the consideration of expediency,
for his acquaintance with the bar of the state was very
limited and recent.
During the absence of the governor from the state in July,
the terms, of four of the chancellors expired, and, as already
noted, Davis appointed their successors, completely ignoring
the appointments made by the governor before his departure.
The governor's action in revoking Davis's appointments was
characterized by the Democratic legislature of 1876 as
"wilful, corrupt, and unlawful," and intended to "cor-
rupt, degrade, and control the judiciary of the state."3 The
circumstances do not seem to justify the view taken by the
legislature that the governor was guilty of a " high official
misdemeanor" in revoking Davis's appointments. It will
hardly be contended that the spirit of the Constitution
intended to confer the appointment of the most important
state officers upon the lieutenant governor when there was
no question as to the capacity of the governor in the prem-
ises. Making provision a few days in advance for filling
vacancies, which he knew would occur during his temporary
absence from the state, should hardly be construed as a viola-
tion of the Constitution, although it may be admitted, as
charged, that his action was for " the purpose of advancing
the interests of his party."4
Another instance in which the governor was charged with
1 Impeachment Testimony, p. 32.
2 Hon. J. S. Morris, ex-attorney general, and one of the leaders of the
Republican party, said : " He [Ames] refused, contrary to the advice of all
the intelligent Republicans of the state, to send in his nominations, although
the Senate was in session and waiting for more than three weeks, and finally
adjourned and went away. He then appointed the chancellors ad interim,
and claimed and exercised the right to remove them at pleasure, according to
their absolute and abject obedience to his sovereign will." Letter to New
York Herald, Jan. 7, 1876.
3 Impeachment Testimony, pp. 38, 39. * Ibid. p. 104.
INAUGURATION OF THE AMES ADMINISTRATION 301
" degrading " the judiciary was in allowing " with his per-
mission, assent, connivance, and assistance," a certain chan-
cellor and a certain district attorney to exchange offices.1
The facts in regard to the affair are these : The chancel-
lorship was held by a young lawyer of some prominence,
while the district attorney was an elderly gentleman to whom
the prosecution of criminals for perquisites was distasteful.
The chancellor preferred the active and stirring duties of the
public prosecutor, while the district attorney longed for
the more quiet and sedate duties of the bench. Each pre-
ferred the office of the other, and there can be little doubt
that each was better suited for the place of the other.
They agreed to resign and ask the governor to appoint them
to the offices which they desired. They did resign, and he
complied with their wishes. No complaint of incompetency
or unfitness was alleged against either. As the governor
had the undoubted right to accept their resignations and
reappoint them to other offices, it hardly seems fair to charac-
terize his action as a " high crime " or a " misdemeanor," nor
does the charge of "tampering" with the judiciary in this
instance seem to be well founded, in view of the excellence
of the change.2
The governor's course in another case was the subject of
much criticism, and substantiates the charge that his purpose
in withholding the nomination of the chancellors from the
Senate was to control their decisions. In January, 1874,
the sheriff elect of Yazoo county, one A. T. Morgan, was
brought before a chancellor whose appointment had never
been confirmed by the Senate, upon the charge of killing his
predecessor in the sheriff's office. After hearing the case,
the chancellor remanded Morgan to prison without bail.
He was subsequently removed to Jackson for safe keeping.
Morgan was a strong personal friend of Governor Ames,
who was displeased at the action of the chancellor in refus-
ing him bail, and in not allowing the Republican coroner suffi-
cient time to qualify as Morgan's successor. He accordingly
revoked the appointment of the chancellor and appointed
another in his stead, who thereupon released Morgan on
1 Impeachment Testimony, p. 31.
2 It was the opinion of the circuit judge of the district, a man who had the
confidence and respect of both political parties, that the exchange was an ex-
cellent one, and conducive to the public good. It should also be said that the
district attorney was overwhelmingly reflected by popular vote, and the
chancellor unanimously confirmed by the Senate, Democrats and Republicans
all voting for him. Report Minority Impeachment Committee.
302 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
bail,1 the legislature in the meantime having passed a special
act allowing a second writ.2 It was alleged that the release
of Morgan was the consideration for the appointment, and
was one of the specifications in the general impeachment
charge against the governor of attempting to control the
judiciary for partisan purposes. In regard to Morgan's legal
right to bail, there was a difference of opinion among the
best lawyers of the state.
Another specification in the general charge against the
governor of seeking to control and degrade the judiciary
was the alleged attempt to influence a decision of Chancellor
Peyton. Peyton was another one of the chancellors ap-
pointed during the recess of the Senate. Before the meet-
ing of the legislature, and consequently before his appoint-
ment had been confirmed, a case was brought before him to
enjoin the state treasurer from paying to the Vicksburg and
Nashville Railroad Company certain moneys, amounting to
nearly $350,000, belonging to the university. These funds
had been loaned the railroad by act of the legislature in
1873. The governor, being dissatisfied with the sufficiency
of the securities provided by the act and offered by the rail-
road company, and prompted only by a desire to protect the
state against loss, brought suit against the railroad by way
of injunction. So far, the zeal of the governor for the wel-
fare of the state was in the highest degree commendable.
Chancellor Peyton, after hearing the argument, decided that
the injunction should be dissolved. The governor was
again displeased with the decision of one of his chancellors,
and refused to send Peyton's name to the Senate when it met,
although he had been serving nearly a year. While the case
was pending, it was suggested at a conference of the lead-
ing Republicans held in the executive mansion, that the
governor have a talk with the father of the chancellor, the
venerable chief justice of the state, and induce him to advise
his son as to the law, and if possible have the injunction
granted. Accordingly, the chief justice was sent for, where-
upon the governor expressed disappointment at the course
his son had seen fit to pursue, alleging, among other things,
that he would not suffer his rulings to go upon the records,
in consequence of which, the case could not be appealed to
the Supreme Court. The chief justice was indignant at what
he believed to be an attempt on the part of the governor to
influence the action of his son in rendering a decision, and
1 Impeachment Testimony, p. 79. 2 Acts of 1874, p. 22.
INAUGURATION OF THE AMES ADMINISTRATION 303
informed him in language rather severe that his son would
not permit himself to be controlled by any person. Chief
Justice Peyton was himself a Republican, was a jurist of high
standing in the state, and highly approved the governor's
zeal in wishing to protect the interests of the state.1 Gov-
ernor Ames always asserted that his motives in this affair
were misconstrued. He declares that he had no intention
of influencing the decision, but simply wished to show
the chief justice how the case had been conducted by his
son.2
The most serious and well-founded complaint against the
course of Governor Ames in regard to the judiciary was that
he appointed incompetent men to judicial positions.3 Sev-
eral of the chancellors appointed by him were not even
members of the bar, were ignorant of both law and practice,
had never conducted a case in court, and did not know a
plea in bar from a demurrer.4 They secured promises of
appointment, stood the examination, obtained licenses to
practice, and were nominated to the Senate.6 Others
already had licenses before appointment, but they had no
standing at the bar. One of these appointees was notori-
ously unfitted for a judicial position, and besides was under
charge of forgery at the time of his appointment. He was
a licensed attorney, but had no practice, and depended upon
several little offices, such as superintendent of education,
United States commissioner, etc., for his support. Against
the protests of men of high character, he was appointed
during the recess of the Senate, and served about eight
months. When the legislature met, the governor c.ould not
get his nomination through the Senate, although there were
only nine Democrats in that body.6 Another judicial
appointee was a practising physician at the time of his
1 Impeachment Testimony, p. 54.
2 Minority Report Impeachment Committee. In a letter to General But-
ler under date of Feb. 10, 1875, Governor Ames said : " It is a matter of little
political significance, but my duty demands that I should save the third of a
million to the state if I can." Correspondence, p. 128.
8 Article XV, impeachment charges.
* Letter of George E. Harris, Attorney General, to U. S. Grant, Boutwell
Report, p. 591.
6 The law required applicants for admission to the bar to be examined by
the circuit judge, or a committee appointed by him. The examination was a
mere form. The candidate was usually taken aside and asked a few ques-
tions, after which the committee reported favorably to the judge, testifying to
the moral character and competency of the candidate, who was thereupon
granted a license.
6 On this point see sworn statements of J. W. C. Watson, Boutwell Re-
port, p. 982; and J. M. Stone, Impeachment Testimony, p. 152.
304 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
appointment, and supported himself by several paltry offices.
He was almost wholly unlearned in the law. There were
others equally unfitted. The articles of impeachment charge
the governor with "wilfully and corruptly" nominating
these men for "partisan purposes." I am unable to find
any evidence of a "corrupt" motive. That they were
appointed for partisan purposes is more nearly the truth.
It has long been a practice in the United States to make
appointments to office for partisan purposes. The truth is,
he could hardly have done better without sacrificing his
party connections, for, according to his own testimony, there
were few Republican lawyers in the state, the bar being
almost wholly Democratic.1 Governor Ames's field of choice
was further restricted by his practical refusal to appoint
members of the bar who affiliated with the Alcorn wing of
the party. Consequently, a considerable proportion of his
appointees were Northern men. It was also necessary in
some cases to appoint chancellors to districts in which they
were not resident.2 The importance and responsibility of
the office of chancellor under the constitution of 1868 were
such as to require men of judicial training and integrity.
Their courts had full common law chancery jurisdiction.
Their writs and processes extended throughout the state,
and to all causes, without limitation of the amounts involved.
They had jurisdiction of all orphans' affairs, the estates of
minors, dower of widows, etc., the business of which was
enormous after the war. Moreover, the business of the court
was largely ex parte, so that an incompetent or corrupt chan-
cellor could do a vast amount of injury. They had also cer-
tain political functions, such as the appointment of election
registrars and the public printers for their respective dis-
tricts. It was for these latter reasons deemed highly im-
Eortant that the chancellors should be of the proper political
lith.
Notwithstanding the allegations of incompetency made
against the judicial appointees of Governor Ames, it must
be said in his favor that the proportion of judgments re-
versed by the Supreme Court upon appeal from decisions
of his chancellors was smaller than under his predeces-
1 Letter to the Attorney General of the United States. Correspondence of
1874, p. 46.
2 Thus, June 1, 1874, he wrote an applicant that he could not appoint him
chancellor of the district in which he resided (it was in the northern part of
the state), but that he might have a chancellorship in one of the southern
districts. Correspondence, p. 65.
INAUGURATION OF THE AMES ADMINISTRATION 305
sor, Governor Alcorn. Of the 33 cases appealed from
decisions of his appointees in 1874-1875, only 8, or 25 per
cent, were reversed ; while in the two years preceding, of
328 cases appealed, 107, or 33 per cent, were reversed. In
1859-1860, of 266 cases appealed, 107, or 36 per cent, were
reversed.1
The criticism of the governor's course in regard to the
judiciary does not apply to the circuit courts or to the
Supreme Court. He appointed no circuit judges, these hav-
ing been appointed by Alcorn in 1870, and their terms, being
six years, did not expire until 1876.2
III. LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNDER REPUBLICAN RULE
Under the reconstruction constitution the sheriff, both
on account of the large emoluments which he received and
the political powers which he wielded, was the most impor-
tant county official. He controlled to a large extent the
selection of the trial juries, appointed one of the three elec-
tion registrars, and collected the state and county taxes.
Much of his compensation consisted of fees and perquisites
for services, which were numerous during the reconstruction
period. The fees of the office amounted to as much as $20,000
per year in some of the counties, in others $15,000, while
perhaps the average was not far below $5000. With the oppor-
tunities which the sheriff had for speculating in warrants, he
was sometimes able to amass a snug fortune, and at least one
sheriff was alleged to have secured a seat in the United States
Senate by cashing at par the depreciated warrants of the
members of the legislature.3 He could, of course, use the
warrants in settling his accounts with the auditor.4 Where
1 Certificate of clerk oi Supreme Court, Minority Report of Impeachment
Committee. It is the testimony of some of the governor's political oppo-
nents, that the majority of the judges appointed by him were personally good
men of fair ability and competency. A few were jurists of high standing.
2 The following are the names of the chancellors appointed by Governor
Ames : W. G. Henderson, G. S. McMillan, O. H. Whitfield, E. Hill, E. Staf-
ford, E. G. Peyton, R. Boyd, J. J. Dennis, C. A. Sullivan, W. D. Frazee,
C. C. Cullens, L. C. Abbott, J. N. Campbell, P. P. Bailey, Thomas Walton.
William Breck, H. R. Ware, R. B. Stone, E. H. Osgood, Hiram Cassidy, Jr.
Six of these were reappointments. They were all Republicans, but less than
one- half were Northern men.
8 The author is personally acquainted with a gentleman now living in a
Northern city who was sheriff of a Mississippi county in 1870. His fees, he
says, amounted to $20,000 per year. By dealing in warrants he accumulated
a fortune, after which he returned to the North to enjoy his wealth.
4 The Clarion of April 12, 1876, contains the names of thirty-six colored
members whose warrants were cashed by the sheriff in question.
306 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
the colored voters were in the majority in a county, the
office was often held by a negro, though more generally by
a Northern white. Few of the colored incumbents were
competent to perform the duties of the office ; in fact,
they seldom made any attempt to perform them. The office
was usually farmed out to white deputies, with whom the
emoluments were shared. De Soto County for four years
had a negro sheriff who, it was alleged, could neither read
nor write, and who did not pretend to have any conception
of the duties of his office. Issaquena in 1876 had a negro
sheriff who was serving his fourth term. The fees of the
office, he says, amounted to $3000 per year.1 Jefferson
County had a negro sheriff for three terms. Hinds, Bolivar,
Coahoma, Claiborne, Warren, and Washington, had negro
sheriffs at one time or another between 1870 and 1876. The
office in Washington County was worth $ 15,000 per year.2 It
could not have been worth much less in the others mentioned.
Many were the difficulties which Republican sheriffs-elect
experienced in their efforts to furnish the bond required by
law. In some cases they were unable to qualify, but as the
boards of supervisors were generally of the same political
party, their bonds were usually approved. No complaint
was more general among the whites than that bonds made by
non-residents and colored men with little or no real estate,
were approved by these boards. Now and then a Republican
sheriff was found missing or short in his accounts, leaving
behind a worthless bond.3
The assessor, like the sheriff, was a high-salaried official,
but did not wield as great political powers. Like the sheriff,
also, his compensation was in the nature of fees, being a cer-
tain percentage of the value of the property assessed. The
increase in the cost of assessing the taxes was a stand-
ing complaint of the whites. In 1855, the expenditures
under this head were $9980 ; in 1868, they were 127,638 ; in
1871, they were $118,158. Governor Alcorn, in a special
1 See his testimony, Boutwell Report, pp. 589, 596.
2 Testimony of S. W. Ferguson, ibid. p. 1470 ; also testimony of H. P.
Putnam, ibid. p. 1446.
8 I have been unable to verify the charge that many of the Republican
sheriffs and treasurers turned out to be defaulters. A " carpet-bag" sheriff
of Holmes County was alleged to be a defaulter to the amount of $51,000 ; a
" carpet-bag " treasurer of Panola County was said to be short in his accounts ;
a "carpet-bag" sheriff of Pike County disappeared with a large sum. No
trace of him has ever been discovered. Whether he was robbed and mur-
dered, or whether he fled the state, is a question about which there is a differ-
ence of opinion. The colored sheriff of De Soto was alleged to be a defaulter
for $13,000. A radical sheriff of Leake County was under similar charges.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNDER REPUBLICAN RULE 307
message to the legislature in 1871, charged that the assessor
in Warren County was receiving a salary of $8000 per
year. The state auditor in 1875 estimated that the
assessor in Warren would receive $4900 ; the assessor in
Hinds, $4500; in Adams, $4000; in Washington, $4360.1
The Taxpayers' Convention, in January, 1875, petitioned
the legislature to fix the compensation of the assessor, so
that it would not exceed $1500 per year, but the prayer
was not granted.
The other county offices, with the exception of those of the
circuit and chancery clerks, cannot be said to have yielded
unreasonable fees. They were not usually sought after by
the colored politicians to the same extent as the office of
sheriff, although occasionally we find a county with a negro
treasurer, as in the case of Yazoo in 1875, or with a negro
superintendent of education, as in the cases of Bolivar, Wilkin-
son, Washington, Issaquena, and a few other river counties
where white Republicans were scarce. At one time, the super-
intendent of Bolivar was B. K. Bruce, who resigned to become
sheriff of the county, and who eventually became United
States Senator and register of the treasury. Now and then a
negro politician had the boldness to accept the office of county
clerk, the duties of which he was never able to perform.
De Soto County had in 1874 a negro circuit clerk who, it was
alleged, could neither read nor write. Warren County had
a colored chancery clerk in 1870, and a colored circuit clerk.
Both were men of intelligence, but proved to be dishonest
officials. Yazoo County in 1874 had colored circuit and
chancery clerks. Claiborne County had a colored circuit
clerk in 1875.
Perhaps the most important local officials under the recon-
struction constitution were the boards of supervisors and the
justices of the peace. Their importance was due chiefly to
the work of rebuilding or repairing bridges, public buildings,
etc., destroyed by the war, and to the vast amount of petty
offences over which the justices exercised jurisdiction. In
the Southern type of local government, the county board is a
legislative and administrative body of great responsibility. It
assesses and disburses the taxes, has supervision of roads and
highways, selects juries, awards county contracts, examines
and determines upon the sufficiency of official bonds, nego-
tiates loans, and in the river counties appoints the levee com-
missioners. It was alleged, with more or less truth, that in
1 House Journal, 1876, p. 44.
308 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
many counties these officials were incompetent. In some
instances the board was composed entirely of illiterate negroes.
Although their duties necessitated calculation and compu-
tation, there were instances in which no member could do
the smallest operation of arithmetic, and their highest mark
of erudition was the ability of the president to sign his name
to a record, the contents of which he could not read. In
Issaqueria County, in 1874, every member of the board
was alleged to be an illiterate negro. Several were charged
with official dishonesty, and two were forced to resign.1
The members of the legislature, the sheriff, clerks, justices
of the peace, and constables, were all colored. In fact, there
were only two white officers in the county. In Madison
County, every member of the board was colored, and the
maximum of learning among them was the ability of one to
sign his name mechanically. There was not a justice of the
peace in the county who could write his name.2 In the per-
formance of their duties, they imposed but few fines, and
shortly before the meeting of the grand jury, they usually
got some friendly white neighbor to write up their dockets
for presentation at the proper time. They were, of course,
almost wholly ignorant of the law, and often unable to read
the processes which they issued against persons and property
in the name of the law. Their signatures were attached to
these processes in the form of a mark, and the processes were
in turn delivered to constables equally unable to explain their
meaning, or attest their action under them. The justices had
jurisdiction of civil causes involving as much as $150, and of
all petty criminal offences, such as larceny, trespass, assault and
battery, etc. It was a standing complaint of the whites that
it was impossible to prevent the thefts of seed cotton and live
stock, on account of the leniency of the colored magistrates.
By the law, theft of property below $25 in value was classi-
fied as petty larceny, and was included within the jurisdiction
of the justices of the peace. For the theft of a cow, they
imposed a fine of $5 or possibly $10, or imprisonment in the
county jail five or six weeks. Their ignorance of the law
sometimes worked hardships on suitors, and caused the attor-
neys not a little embarrassment.3
Marshall County, in the northern part of the state, had in
1 Testimony of J. W. Farrish, Boutwell Report, p. 616.
2 Testimony of Robert Powell, ibid. p. 876.
8 Mr. Andrews, a member of the Yazoo city bar, related with indignation
to the Boutwell committee how the ignorance of one of these officials caused him
to lose $100 in a case in which he was interested. See his testimony, p. 1704.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNDER REPUBLICAN RULE 309
1874 three colored representatives in the lower House of the
legislature, and one in the Senate. Of the members of the
board of supervisors, three were colored, and one was a
white man from the North who not only believed in social
equality between the races, but in practice daily lived up to
his professions. The other member was a conservative. The
colored officials " could barely read and write." 1
Wilkinson County, in the southwestern part of the state,
was politically in a bad way at the time of the inauguration
of Governor Ames. The sheriff was a white radical, and three
members of the county board and all the justices of the peace
except two were negroes, none of them being able to write
a summons. The senators and representatives in the legis-
lature were colored. The county superintendent of educa-
tion was a negro from Oberlin, Ohio, and most of the
school teachers were " fancy colored mulattoes from abroad." 2
There were as usual charges of extravagance and corruption
in the administration of the county affairs. Some idea of
qualifications of the local officials is afforded by the following
personal testimony of Alexander Branch, president of the
board of supervisors. He was examined by the Bout well
congressional committee at Jackson in 1876.
Question. Were you a slave before the war ?
Answer. Oh, yes, sir ; one yet.
Q. Have you any education ?
A. Not a bit.
Q. Can you read and write ?
A. No, sir ; I do not know my a b c's. I never had any op-
portunities. I am a hard laboring man.
Q. Have you any property ?
A. Nothing but a inule, a horse, two cows, and a family.8
The adjoining county of A mite had a board composed of
four negroes and one white man, " all ignorant and unfit for
the place." * All were under indictment for making illegal
appropriations. Yazoo County was, from the standpoint of
the whites, in a melancholy condition. It is one of the large
1 Testimony of Judge J. W. C. Watson, Boutwell Report, pp. 1003-1004.
2 Testimony of Hon. J. H. Jones, ibid. p. 1639. This witness alleged that
a Cincinnati firm supplied the county witli school desks and chairs at $7.50
each when the cost was $3.50 ; that the county paid $126 per barrel for pork
for the use of the poor house ; that the county was charged $1500 for three
bridges containing four, eight, and twenty planks respectively ; and that the
county debt had increased from $6000 in 1865 to $70,000 in 1876.
8 Boutwell Report, p. 1591.
* Testimony of H. P. Hurst, ibid p. 104.
310 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
wealthy counties in the Mississippi Valley, and had a popu-
lation overwhelmingly colored. The sheriff was the well-
known "carpet bagger," Colonel A. T. Morgan, an efficient
officer but, for other reasons, very unpopular among the whites.
The chancery clerk was a negro, formerly a member of the
legislature. He had been a slave up to the close of the war,
had no conception of his duties, and, in fact, seldom went
about the office, which was farmed out to white deputies. He
says he could write a little.1 The circuit clerk was a negro of
some intelligence, the assessor was a " carpet bagger " from
Iowa, the circuit judge was from Pennsylvania, and the
chancellor from New Hampshire. Of the three members of
the legislature, two were negroes, one of them from Ohio.
The other was a white " carpet bagger." The county treas-
urer was a negro, who, apart from bad spelling and punctua-
tion, could write a very good letter.2 Of the members of the
board of supervisors, one was a white man from the North,
another was a native, while the other three were illiterate
negroes.3 There was not a Democratic official in the county.
It was alleged that the tax rate had increased four or five
fold since the war, and that the county " was running deeper
and deeper in debt."4 The sheriff, however, denied these
allegations, and declared that during his term the bridges
burned during the war had all been repaired, that sixty
schoolhouses had been built, and a $75,000 courthouse erected,
and yet the increase of taxation had been slight.6
The situation in Warren County, so far as the conduct of
county officials was concerned, will be dwelt upon in con-
nection with the account of the Vicksburg riot. Of the
members of the board of supervisors, the president and two
others were alleged to have been illiterate. In Hinds County,
the representatives and senators in the legislature and the
sheriff were all negroes. Some of them were men of intelli-
gence. Of the members of the board of supervisors, four
were illiterate negroes, and the fifth was a Northern man,
and at the time was one of the state printers.6
1 See his testimony, Boutwell Report, p. 1682.
2 See his letter in the Boutwell Report, Doc. Ev. p. 100.
8 Testimony of J. M. Dickson (colored), Boutwell Report, p. 1684.
4 Testimony of Garnett Andrews, ibid. p. 1704.
6 Testimony of A. T. Morgan.
6 Senator Furlong charges that this member received $6300 for doing the
county printing during the first nine months of his term. This amount ex-
ceeded the average sum paid the state printer before the war. Only two
members of the Hinds County board paid taxes on real estate. Speech in the
Senate, Dec. 1874, p. 10.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNDER REPUBLICAN RULE 311
Claiborne County was represented in the legislature by a
negro boy whose occupation was that of a hotel waiter and
boot-black.1 The sheriff and circuit clerk were both colored,
and the same was true of most of the local officials.
Washington County was the scene of many stirring politi-
cal events during this period. It is one of the large " black "
counties situated on the Mississippi River, and produces more
cotton than any other county of equal area in the United
States. During the period of Republican rule, the politics of
the county were controlled chiefly by two negro preachers
William Gray and J. Allen Ross. Gray was a state senator
from 1870 to 1876, and was a strong personal friend of
Governor Ames, who honored him with an appointment
as brigadier general of state militia in 1875. In the Senate
he was chairman of the committee on corporations, and
seems to have taken a leading part in the proceedings of
that body. The whites allege that he was insolent in his
behavior, and was the terror of the community in which he
lived.2
Ross was a more intelligent man, and was an eloquent
speaker. He had held the office of chancery clerk, and had
been elected to the office of sheriff, but was unable to give
the requisite bond. The rivalry between him and Gray now
and then created unusual excitement in the town of Green-
ville. Grajr's alleged threat in 1875 that he intended to be
sheriff at all hazards 3 led Ross to publish a letter advising
his race to vote the Democratic ticket.
Nearly every officer in the county was colored. The
sheriff's office, which yielded legitimately an income of
$15,000 annually, was held by a negro. Another negro was
superintendent of education. There was the usual complaint on
account of the high rate of taxes. In addition to the regular
state and county assessments, there was a levee tax of one cent
per pound on cotton and fifteen cents per acre on land in cul-
tivation. General Ferguson, the most prominent citizen of
the county, told Senator Boutwell that the tax assessment on
his land was $4.15 per acre, or about one-half its value, and
that nearly the entire land of the county had been sold for
taxes.4
The increase of the state levy from 1 mill on the dol-
lar to 14 was accompanied by a similar increase in the county
levy. The law allowed the county boards of supervisors to
1 Testimony of J. D. Vertner, Boutwell Repori, p. 191.
2 Testimony of S. W. Ferguson, ibid. p. 1470.
8 Ibid. p. 1468. * ibid. p. 1472.
312 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
levy a tax exclusively for county purposes, which, together
with the state assessment, should not exceed 25 mills on the
dollar. In every county, with half a dozen exceptions, the
limit was reached, and it appears to have been exceeded in
more than thirty instances. This violation of the law does
not seem to have been confined to those counties under
Republican rule, nor does the average county levy appear
to have been much higher in the Republican centres than
in the Democratic centres.
According to the report of the state auditor, thirty-four of
the seventy-three counties of Mississippi had Republican
administrations in 1874, and thirty-nine had Democratic
administrations. From the table on the following page l
it will be seen that the highest levy was that of Colfax
(now Clay) County, the rate being 23.2 mills. This, with
the state tax of 14 mills, made the amount nearly 4 per cent.
Those who lived in the villages of that county had to pay,
in addition, a municipal tax. In Warren, the county levy
was only 14 mills, but the municipal levy of 21J mills in
Vicksburg made the total contributed by the unhappy
citizens of that town equivalent to about 5 per cent. The
showing in the Democratic counties, according to the audi-
tor's report, does not seem to have been much better than in
the Republican counties. If the report of the auditor is a
truthful statement of the situation, the Democratic charge
of Republican extravagance does not seem to have been well
founded.
It will not be seriously denied that a tax levy, ranging from
2| to 5 per cent on property which had decreased largely in
valuation, was a grievous burden upon a people who had by no
means recovered from the impoverishment of the war, and
who had experienced a succession of droughts, floods, and
bad crops almost unprecedented in the history of the state.
The result was wholesale confiscation of property. The
sheets that were fortunate enough to secure the public print-
ing, contained whole pages of delinquent tax lists. In some
communities, the tax payers decided that it was better to
allow their property to be confiscated, and take the chances
of being able to redeem it in after years.2 Over six million
1 This table is from a certified report of the state auditor, and is printed as
a part of the documentary evidence in the Vicksburg Report, p. 533. I have
no means of ascertaining its correctness. The total state and county levies,
as given in the table, are smaller than the corresponding levies for the year
previous. I find in the report of a special committee, House Journal, p. 1444,
that the rate in Adams County was 43£ mills, Claiborne County, 33£, etc.
2 See testimony of General S. W. Ferguson, Boutwell Report, p. 1470.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNDER REPUBLICAN RULE 313
acres of land — one-fifth of the area of the state — were for-
feited during this period, on account of the inability of owners
to pay the taxes.1
DEMOCRATIC
COUNTIES.
STATE
TAX.
COUNTY
TAX.
TOTAL.
REPUBLICAN
COUNTIES.
STATE
TAX.
COUNTY
TAX.
TOTAL.
Alcorn
14
9
23
Adams
14
17.7
31.7
Attala
14
11
25
Amite
14
11
25
Ben ton
14
18J
32J
Bolivar
14
16
30
Calhoun
14
12
26
Carroll
14
11
25
Chickasaw
14
20.3
34.3
Claiborne
14
10.5
24.5
Choctaw
14
17
31
Coahoma
14
15
29
Clark
14
16
30
Copiah
14
11
25
Covington
14
11
25
Colfax
14
23.2
37.2
Franklin
14
14
28
De Soto
14
5.3
19.3
Greene
14
11
25
Grenada
14
18*
321
Hancock
14
18*
321
Hinds
14
114
25.4
Harrison
14
8.6
22.6
Holmes
14
11
25
Itawamba
14
11
25
Issaquena
14
16
30
Jackson
14
1<4
301
Jefferson
14
17*
31*
Jasper
14
7*
21*
Kemper
14
18
32
Jones
14
17*
31*
Lowndes
14
15
29
Lafayette
14
10
24
Le Flore
14
11
25
Lauderdale
14
11
25
Madison
14
11
25
Lawrence
14
10
24
Marshall
14
14
28
Leake
14
12*
261
Monroe
14
11*
251
Lee
14
15
29
Noxubee
14
14
28
Lincoln
14
10.7
24.7
Oktibbeha
14
13
27
Marion
14
11
25
Panola
14
10
24
Montgomery
14
10.8
24.8
Pike
14
11.8
25.8
Neshoba
14
18
32
Kan kin
14
10
24
Newton
14
10
24
Sumner
14
11
25
Perry
14
10
24
Sunflower
14
11
25
Pontotoc
14
6.2
20.2
Tallahatchee
14
131
271
Prentiss
14
8*
224
Tunica
14
10
24
Pearl
14
n
21*
Tate
14
7
21
Scott
14
10
24
Warren
14
14
28
Simpson
14
111
25$
Washington
14
131
274
Smith
14
9
23
Wilkinson
14
19
33
Tippah
14
17*
31*
Yazoo
14
10
24
Tishomingo
Union
14
14
11
11
25
25
Average
13iV
Wayne
14
15i
291
Winston
14
16
30
Yallobusha
14
8
22
Average
12A
1 Testimony of W. H. Gibbs, state auditor, in report oi Vicksburg inves-
tigation committee, 2d Ses. 43d Cong. No. 265, p. 530. The following is the
testimony of the auditor on this point : —
314 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
It was a special grievance of the whites that the great
majority of those who enjoyed the honor and emoluments of
office, as well as those who participated in the choice of the
official class, had little share in the burdens of the tax payers.
This was to a considerable extent true. In 1874, out of 140,000
voters, 75,000 were on the delinquent tax list. Warren
County had 5000 colored voters, and 4686 delinquents. Hinds,
with nearly 6000 voters, had 4972 delinquents. Washington
had 4313 ; Yazoo, 2937, etc. The majority of the delinquents
were, of course, colored voters. A comparatively small pro-
portion of them owned real estate at this time. There were
many counties in which the blacks did not pay $1000 in
taxes, yet they held the majority of the offices and adminis-
tered the government.
IV. STATE EXPENDITURES
During the period of Republican rule in Mississippi, there
were no great railroad swindles as in Louisiana and Arkan-
sas, and no such wholesale plundering of the treasury as in
South Carolina. The reconstruction constitution wisely
prohibited the loan of the credit of the state. It was true,
however, as charged by the whites, that the number of
offices and agencies with high salaries was needlessly multi-
plied, so that nearly the entire Republican party was in the
pay of the state.1 In communities where there were not
enough competent Republicans to go around, one man some-
times held several offices, or the offices were distributed
among the members of a family.2 As an illustration of the
Q. Can you inform us what proportion of the lands of Mississippi have
been forfeited to the state for taxes ?
A. About one-fifth.
Q. You are correct in the statement that it is one-fifth ?
A. Yes. The entire area is about 30.000,000 acres. There are owned by
the state and the levy boards about 6,000,000 acres. This exceeded by 2000
square miles the states of Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Delaware. The
lists of lands advertised for sale in Hinds County in 1875 covered two full
pages of the Jackson Pilot.
1 There were only twelve white Republicans in Noxubee County in 1875.
The offices were distributed among them as follows : one sheriff, two deputies,
one chancery clerk, one treasurer, one superintendent of education, one asses-
sor, two magistrates, and one editor of a Republican paper. The others were
members of the county board or of the legislature. Testimony J. W. Rob-
bins, Boutwell Report, p. 1265.
2 William Price, a Methodist preacher from the North, was state senator from
Grenada County, was public printer of his district, and was postmaster until
the President's order prohibiting postmasters from holding other offices, when
he turned the office over to his wife. At the same time his nephew was super-
STATE EXPENDITURES 315
complaint that the increase in the number of public offices
was unnecessary, the Democrats cited the organization of
the judiciary. When the reconstructionists took charge, ten
circuit judges performed all the duties which now required
twenty chancellors and thirteen circuit judges. To this
charge, the Republicans replied that the abolition of the
office of county probate judge in 1870, and the transfer of
most of the duties of that office to the chancery courts,
made an increase in the number of chancellors necessary.
Moreover, they sai4, the citizenship of the state had been
doubled by the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment, a
fact which added vastly to the business of the courts. The
Democrats met these assertions by saying that many of the
duties hitherto performed by the probate judges had been
transferred to the chancery clerks, of whom there was one
in each county ; that the recent constitutional amendment
by which the jurisdiction of justices of the peace had been
made to include all civil cases not exceeding in amount f 150,
and the general poverty of the people by which business
transactions were very much limited in value, had taken away
one-third of the civil business of the circuit and chancery
courts.1 There can be little doubt that the need for such an
elaborate judicial machinery was more apparent than real.
It is difficult to believe that there was sufficient chancery
business in Mississippi in 1874 to require a term of the
chancery court in each county at least four times a year.2
Governor Ames in 1875 recommended a reduction in the
number of chancellors from twenty to ten, but it was left to
the Democrats to make the reduction in 1876.
There was one feature of the Ames administration which
Charles Nordhoff characterized as " robbery pure and simple.'5
It was the matter of the state printing, the cost of which was
intendent of education and deputy collector of internal revenue, his son-in-law
was a chancery clerk, and he himself was an applicant for the office of sheriff
and tax collector. Nordhoff, Cotton States, 1875: article, Mississippi. Also
Price's testimony, Boutwell Report. The Jackson Clarion of Nov. 8, 1870,
tells of a Smith family in Madison County who were thus favored. One was
postmaster, one was public printer, one was a member of the county board,
one was a member of the city council, one a city weigher, one a candidate for
the legislature, and one a candidate for school director. The Senate Journal
of 1873 contains a Democratic protest that Senators Morgan, Gibbs, Abbott,
Campbell, and Bowles were at the same time holding other offices. C. W.
Clarke, a member of the legislature in 1870, was also at the same time district
attorney. There were other instances of this kind.
1 Report Senate sub-committee, p. 398.
2 This was the requirement of the constitution, Art. VI. Sec. 17. The
provision was amended in 1875, so as to require the court to be held but
twice a year in each county.
316 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
out of all proportion to the other expenses of the govern-
ment. For the five years immediately preceding 1861, the
average annual cost did not exceed $8000 ; for the five years
commencing with 1870, it was $73,000, making an average
annual excess of $65,000. In one year the amount reached
nearly $128,000. The Democracy cut the amount down to
$22,000 in 1876. The journals of the legislature contained
a vast amount of matter utterly worthless to the public;
they were bulky in size, and contained large appendices.
Examples may be cited in illustration. In 1856, the journals
of the two Houses contained 1163 pages ; in 1873, 4363 pages,
or nearly four times as many. The statutes were no less
voluminous. For the five years preceding reconstruction,
the total number of pages amounted to 2113, while for the
five years of Republican rule it amounted to 3789 pages.
The official printer was accused of being notoriously cor-
rupt, and was charged with having secured his appointment
from the legislature by means of bribery,1 and what was
incomprehensible to many, he was one of the confidential
advisers of the governor, and for a time a member of his
household.2 He turned his printing office over to another
person and took a clerkship in the state treasurer's office at
a salary of $1500 a year in state warrants worth seventy or
eighty cents on the dollar. He was thus able to cash at par the
warrants which he had received as state printer, amounting
to $75,000 or $100,000 a year.
The subject of another complaint was the marked increase
in the cost of administering the different departments of the
state government. Frequent sessions of the legislature long
1 G. E. Harris's letter to President Grant, Boutwell Report, p. 597.
2 Nov. 24, 1875, the Attorney General wrote concerning him : " His office
as state printer is about to expire, and he wants to be postmaster at Vicks-
burg. I regret to say that he is so degraded that the charge of corruption
and bribery is no offence to him, and it comes from various sources." Ibid.
p. 59. Another prominent Republican declared that the state printer was
receiving $100,000 a year, that his "atrocities on the state treasury for the
last two years would fill a volume," that he speculated in state warrants, that
he collected four or five times as much on every printing bill as the law allowed
him, and that Governor Ames knew this and yet used all his influence actively
and persistently to keep him in the place. J. S. Morris to W. W. Hunt-
ingdon, New York Herald, Jan. 7, 1876. The following table compiled from
the auditor's reports shows the cost of public printing before and after the
war: —
1861 $8,028 1873 .... . $74,702
1866-1867 6,228 1874 78,806
1867-1868 8,675 1875 60,803
1870 52,876 1876 22,295
1871 127,848 1890 13,500
STATE EXPENDITURES
317
drawn out, the large per diem of members, and the employ-
ment of a larger corps of clerks, doorkeepers, sergeants-at-
arms, porters, pages, etc., increased the expenditures on
account of the legislature far beyond those of ante-
bellum days. A Democratic proposition to reduce the per
diem of members was opposed almost unanimously by the
Republicans. Similarly, a resolution to limit the amount of
stationery allowed members met the same fate.1 Before the
war, the cost of clerical service for the legislature rarely
exceeded $30 or $40 per day. In 18T5, it was costing $150
per day. There were twenty-six attaches receiving from $3
to $6 per day. A number of these were committee clerks,
a luxury which the ante-bellum legislator never enjoyed.2
A proposition that no committee clerks be employed except
at the expense of the committees employing them was voted
down.3
The expenditures on account of the judiciary show the
same proportional increase. The disbursements under this
head were $144,565 in 1861. In 1870, they were $320,399, in
1871,3389,922, and in 1872, $434,973, which was the maximum
amount reached. The Democrats reduced the expenditures to
$95,185 in 1876.
The expenditures on account of the executive department
show the same results. This was due to the large emolu-
ments of the state officers and the misapplication of the
executive contingent fund. Prior to the war, the compensa-
tion of the governor was $3500 per year and the use of the
executive mansion, while the salaries of other state offi-
cers ranged from $1500 to $2000 per year. In 1865, the
1 A committee of investigation reported, Feb. 26, 1875, that the fifty-five
colored members who were entitled to $165 worth of stationery at state
expense had drawn $258.95 worth, whereupon the Jackson Clarion demanded
to know why the correspondence of the colored members was so large. The
stationery account for the first two months of the session of 1875 was $2281.
2 The following comparative exhibit compiled from the auditors' reports
shows the increase in the cost of the several items under consideration : —
PEB DIEM OF
MEMBERS.
MILEAGE.
CLERICAL
SERVICE.
1865-1866
46,362
22,128
5,861
1870
166,632
29,664
28,201
1873
105,244
16,552
32,634
1878
79,100
9,230
5,816
House Journal, 1873, p. 15.
318 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
salary of the governor was raised to $6000 by a Democratic
legislature. At the same time, the per diem of members of
the legislature was increased from $4 to $8, and the salaries
of other state officers increased to $2500 or $3500 per year.
This was one piece of Democratic legislation which the re-
constructionists showed no disposition to repeal, although
they were memorialized to do so. It matters little which
party was responsible for this legislation, the complaint of
the tax payers was well founded. New York and Louisiana
were the only states in which the chief executive received as
much compensation for his services as the governor of Mis-
sissippi did. With one-fifth of the population of Ohio and
one-tenth of the taxable property, Mississippi paid her gov-
ernor one-third more salary. With one-tenth of the taxable
property of Massachusetts, she paid her governor nearly twice
as much. With one-third as much property as Connecticut,
and one-fourth as much as New Jersey, she paid six times as
much.1 In addition to the large salary of the governor, he
was provided with a house, for the repair and furnishing
of which liberal appropriations were made by the legisla-
ture.2 Both Governors Powers and Ames used the executive
contingent fund for household purposes, so that their per-
sonal expenses could not have been great.3 The law did not
specify in detail the purposes for which this fund was to be
used, although it was intended to be devoted chiefly to the
apprehension of fugitives from justice. It had never been
used to defray the household expenses of the governor, or
to provide furniture for the executive mansion. The com-
pensation of the state superintendent of education and the
1 The following were the salaries of the governors of several states at this
time : Illinois, -14000 ; Iowa, $3000 ; Indiana, $3000 ; Maine, $2500 ; Massa-
chusetts, $3500; Ohio, $4000; Wisconsin, $1250; Nebraska, Connecticut,
Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Michigan, $1000 ;
Mississippi, $6000 j Virginia, $5000; Alabama, $4000; Louisiana, $6000;
Georgia, $4000.
2 Down to 1872, $44,000 had been appropriated for this purpose since the
war.
8 The following are some of the " contingencies " of Powers and Ames : —
POWERS (for 4 months, 1872). AMES.
Linen and tablecloths . . $89.10 Two mouse traps .... $.75
Kitchen utensils (repairs) . 26.00 Two thermometers ... 1.00
Gas and coal 358.44 One wire line 1.75
Spoons and forks .... 46.75 One slop pail 2.50
Repairing linen .... 20.00 Tablecloths 71.00
Repairing silverware . . . 72.36 Freight on peaches . . . 1.50
Wood 95.00 Freight on fruit 25
One bed pan 1.76
STATE EXPENDITURES 319
attorney general were also unduly large. The salary of the
former official was 83000 per year, and an allowance of
$1500 for clerk hire. The pay of the attorney general was
$3500 per year, and as reporter of the Supreme Court he
received $7 per page for each volume of decisions reported.
The Jackson Clarion charged that in 1872 he received $38,143
on this account alone. Prior to the war the reporter received
$3 per page, and the legislature in 1872 reduced the com-
pensation to that amount.
The office of lieutenant governor and commissioner of emi-
gration were looked upon by the Democrats as sinecures
created by the reconstructionists to reward their party ad-
herents. Before the war, the president pro tern, of the Senate
performed the duties of lieutenant governor at a salary double
that of other members of the legislature. The lieutenant
governor received $1500 per year. The department of immi-
gration was established in obedience to a general feeling
that something ought to be done to encourage capital and
labor to flow into the state to aid in the work of restoration.
This feeling was manifested in the organization of local immi-
gration clubs, and the occasional despatch of a commissioner
to the Northwest or to Europe. Had the department been
placed under the supervision of an intelligent commissioner,
identified with the state, familiar with its needs, and acquainted
with its resources, it would no doubt have accomplished great
good and met the approval of all parties. But instead of this,
an unlettered colored member of the legislature was elected
commissioner by the legislature in violation of the constitu-
tion, which prohibited members from holding offices of their
own creation.1 It was alleged that he employed five assist-
ants in the office, three of whom were likewise members of
the legislature. At the expiration of his term he was suc-
ceeded by a colored minister, formerly a member of the legis-
lature, from Natchez. Twelve thousand five hundred dollars
were appropriated annually for the use of the department.
The whites charged that none but colored immigrants were
encouraged to come into the state.2 They refused to recog-
nize the department, and at private expense sent 'Colonel
Musgrove, a "carpet bagger,'* to the North to advertise the
1 The Attorney General gave an opinion that the commissioner in ques-
tion was ineligible, but in a mandamus proceeding a circuit judge decided in
his favor. Jackson Clarion, June 12, 1873.
2 I find in the files of the Jackson Clarion occasional mertion of the arrival
of a number of carloads of colored immigrants under the auspices of the Com-
missioner of Immigration. Furlong, a Republican senator, said in a speech
320
RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
resources of the state and to encourage the immigration of
white men of means and industry. The State Grange also
maintained an immigration bureau at Meridian, and sent an
agent to the North for the same purpose.
The following comparative table shows the state expendi-
tures from 1860 to 1876, omitting the four years of the war,
the expenses of those years being abnormally large : l —
YEAR.
DEMOCRATIC EXPENDITURES.
YEAR.
REPUBLICAN EXPENDITURES.
1860
Amount.
$ 663,536.55
1870
Amount.
$1,061,249.90
1865
1,410,250.13
1871
1,729,046.34
1866
1,860,809.89
1872
1,596,828.64
1867
625,817.80
1873
1,450,632.80
1868
525,678.80
1874
1,319,281.60
1869
463,219.71
1875
1,430,102.00
1876
518,709.00
It should, however, be said that if the testimony of Gov-
ernor Ames may be followed relative to the expenses of the
state government during the two years in which he was at its
head, his was the most economical administration since 1856,
with the exception of two years, 1861 and 1869.2
Among the sins charged to the " carpet baggers " in Missis-
sippi was that after five years of extravagance and plunder
they turned over the government to the democracy with a
debt aggregating |20,000,000.3 According to the report of
the auditor for 1875, the total state indebtedness on Jan-
in the Senate, Dec. 18, 1874 : " Happily our first commissioner has not endan-
gered us in any way, for it is not probable that he has induced or would
induce, if he remained in office a century, one hundred immigrants, white or
colored, to turn their faces in this direction." " I submit that our present
immigration department is a needless, unprofitable, and most mischievous
expenditure of a vast amount of money, and if it cannot be promptly and
completely regenerated, ought to be abolished."
1 These figures are taken from the reports of the state auditor ; see also
Boutwell Report, Doc. Ev. p. 118, and Vicksburg Report, p. 524.
2 In his last message to the legislature in 1876, he says: "The expenses
of the state government for 1874 were $908,330 ; for 1875, $618,259. It is
possible, as Governor Ames suggests, that the auditor included in his esti-
mates some expenditures that should not properly have been charged to the
administration, and that the apparent discrepancy was the result of two dif-
ferent systems of book-keeping. I have preferred to follow the official report
of the auditor."
8 A table giving the debts of the Southern states at the close of the recon-
struction period, in which the debt of Mississippi is placed at $20,000,000,
appeared first in a speech delivered by the Hon. St. George Tucker in the
51st Congress (Record, 1st Ses. p. 6566) ; later, in Hon. H. Herbert's " Why
STATE EXPENDITURES 321
uary 1 of that year was $3,750,385. l It consisted of two
forms — a debt, the whole of which was to be discharged,
principal and interest, and a debt of which the interest
only was to be discharged. The latter part of the debt
was commonly known as the Chickasaw school fund,
which, with the common school fund, constituted a trust held
by the state for the benefit of the schools. The state paid
interest annually on that part known as the Chickasaw fund,
($814,743), the beneficiaries being those counties originally
constituting the Chickasaw cession. The principal is never
to be paid. The common school fund amounted to $718,946.22.
This was required to be invested in United States bonds, the
interest going to the several counties for the benefit of their
schools. As the Chickasaw debt was incurred before the
war, it should not of course be charged to the " carpet bag-
gers," and as the interest only was to be paid on the Chick-
asaw and common school funds, they should be deducted
from the total debt given above, in order to ascertain the real
indebtedness. On January 1, 1876, two months before Ames
surrendered the government, he sent a message to the legis-
lature, in which he gave a statement of the condition of the
finances of the state. From this statement it appears that
the real state debt, that is, its outstanding obligations over
and above its ability to pay at once with its currency and
available funds, was but little more than $500,000.2 His
statement agrees substantially with the report of the state
treasurer for 1876,3 and does not differ greatly from the find-
ings of a special committee of Democrats, who reported that
the actual indebtedness of the state three months before
Ames resigned was but little more than a million dollars.4
the Solid South ? " from which it was copied by Dr. J. L. M. Curry in the
Southern States of the American Union, p. 231, and has more recently been
used in President E. Benjamin Andrews' History of the United States dur-
ing the last Quarter of a Century (Magazine edition, Scribners, May, 1895, p.
569). Shortly after the publication of President Andrews' article, Ex-Gov-
ernor Ames addressed a communication to him complaining that his authori-
ties had led him into making a " $19,500,000 error in a $20,000,000 statement,"
so far as the debt of Mississippi was concerned. President Andrews replied
that he had been seriously misled, and after procuring the official reports, was
pained to find that his statement as regarded Mississippi was without founda-
tion. The table alluded to was omitted from the book form of his history.
1 Vicksburg Report, p. 534. 2 Message, p. 3. 8 Pp. 19-21.
* The Democratic legislature that impeached Governor Ames appointed a
joint committee of the two Houses " to investigate and ascertain the indebt-
edness of the state on Jan. 1, 1876." On the 12th of April, they reported
that the total indebtedness was §2,631,704.24. If from this be deducted the
school funds, there is left a remainder of about one million, which represents
the real indebtedness. See Journal, House of Representatives, 1876, p. 623.
322 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
The state debt in 1870, when the Republicans took charge of
the government was, according to one authority, $221,522.75 *;
according to another, it was $653,480, exclusive of the school
fund.2 It is difficult to see how any system of book-keeping
could stretch a debt of half a million or even a million into
one of twenty million.3 It should also be said by way of ex-
planation that the work of restoration which the govern-
ment was obliged to undertake, made increased expenses
necessary. During the period of the war, and for several
years thereafter, public buildings and state institutions were
permitted to fall into decay. The state house and grounds,
the executive mansion, the penitentiary, the insane asylum,
and the buildings for the blind, deaf, and dumb were in a
dilapidated condition, and had to be extended and repaired.
A new building for the blind was purchased and fitted up.
The reconstructionists established a public school system and
spent money to maintain and support it,4 perhaps too freely,
in view of the impoverishment of the people. When they took
hold, warrants were worth but sixty or seventy cents on the
dollar, a fact which made the price of building materials used
in the work of construction correspondingly higher. So far as
the conduct of state officials who were intrusted with the
custody of public funds is concerned, it may be said that there
were no great embezzlements or other cases of misappropriation
during the period of Republican rule. It was charged and
was the official opinion of the Attorney General that the bond
of the state treasurer in 1875 was insufficient and not in due
form of law. On August 28, the Attorney General informed
the governor that the treasurer's bond had no oath or verifi-
cation on it, nor did it appear that any of the sureties were
worth anything in "freehold estate," as required by law. He
advised the governor to close the office and take possession
of the ke)^s, safes, and vaults. The governor was charged by
the legislature of 1876 with "unlawfully, knowingly, and
1 Report of Democratic committee, Journal, House of Representatives,
1876. Really, the amount was much larger than this. The committee
deducted from the real indebtedness, $526,000, being the amount lost to the
state by the bad management of stock which it held in two railroads.
2 Report 10th Census, Vol. VII. pp. 554-595. In 1880 the debt was
$379,000. At present, 1900, it is $1,030,946.07. Report state treasurer,
Oct. 1, 1899.
8 Of course the indebtedness here spoken of is the state indebtedness.
Almost every county and every municipality of any size had debts of their
own. Vicksburg, as we shall see, had a larger debt than that of the whole
state.
* The Republican defence is well set forth by Hon. George E. Harris, Bout-
well Report, p. 114, Doc. Ev.
STATE EXPENDITURES
323
corruptly " approving the treasurer's bond for " corrupt and
partisan purposes," and for " unlawfully, knowingly, and cor-
ruptly " permitting him to remain in possession of the office.1
The governor affirmed that he did not at the time know there
was any defect in the form of the bond, that he signed the
bond without noticing the absence of the word " freehold,"
and that, moreover, the treasurer upon going out of office had
settled in full with the state without any defalcation or loss
whatever.2 The treasurer of the Natchez hospital seems to
have been the only defaulting state official during the admin-
istration of Governor Ames. He was a "carpet bagger,"
and the amount of the shortage was $1 251. 81. 3 The colored
state librarian during Alcorn's administration was charged
with stealing books from the library.4 The only large case
of embezzlement among the state officers during the post-
bellum period was that of the Democratic state treasurer in
1866. The amount of the shortage was $61,962.
The increase in the expenditures of the government was,
of course, accompanied by an increase in the rate of taxation.
The increase began in 1869, and reached a maximum in 1874.
The following is a statement of the levies for state purposes
alone from 1869 to 1878 : 5—
YEAE.
AMOUNT ON $1 OF
ASSESSED VALUATION.
YEAR.
AMOUNT ON $1 OK
ASSESSED VALUATION.
1869 .
1 mill
1874
14 mills
1870 .
5 mills
1875
94 "
1871 .
4 «
1876
6i «
1872 .
8£ "
1877
5 «
1873 .
12i "
1878
3£ "
1 Impeachment Testimony, pp. 24-26.
2 Correspondence of Governor Ames, 1875, p. 22.
8 Impeachment Testimony, p. 33. The Testimony in the Impeachment of
Adelbert Ames is the title of a volume of 323 pages printed by authority by
the legislature to meet the assertion of the President of the United States that
Governor Ames was a refugee from the state, and to " furnish to the world a
complete vindication of the motives and actions of the legislature in.preferring
articles of impeachment, and to place the testimony beyond the possibility of
loss by fire or otherwise." Besides the oral testimony, it contains one hun-
dred pages of documentary evidence. Five hundred copies were printed. The
Impeachment Trial of Adelbert Ames is a pamphlet of sixty-two pages,
printed also by authority of the legislature in 1876. It is a record of the pro-
ceedings of the Senate sitting as a court of impeachment, and contains the
answers of the governor to the charges preferred against him.
* Jackson Clarion, Oct. 18, 1870.
6 This statement, except the amounts from 1875 to 1878, is from a communi-
cation of W. H. Gibbs, state auditor, to Hon. George S. Boutwell, June 10,
324 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
The one mill tax of 1869 represents the state levy at the
time the democracy surrendered the government to the re-
constructionists, while the six and one-half mills levy of
1876 is the amount fixed by the Democrats in the first year
of their restoration. It will be seen that in the second year
of Governor Ames's administration there was a reduction of
several mills in the state levy. This was due chiefly to an
act transferring much of the cost of maintaining the judiciary
from the state treasury to the several county treasuries. Of
course the shifting of the expense to the counties was not a
reduction of the amount. However, Ames is entitled to the
credit of reducing to some extent the state levy. There is
good reason to believe that he was more disposed to economy
than many of those by whom he was surrounded. If one
may judge from his professions, his highest ambition was to
give the state an economical administration.1 But unfortu-
nately his actions did not always accord with his professions.
V. UNPOPULAR LEGISLATION
One of the chief complaints of the whites during the
period of Republican rule was the overabundance of legisla-
tion. Before the war, the legislature met biennially, and
was seldom in session for a longer period than two months.
As already pointed out, it was in session for a period of
nearly six months in 1870, five months in 1871, nearly four
months in 1872, and about four months in 1873. Besides,
an extra session was held in the autumn of 1873, in conse-
quence of the chaotic condition of the election laws. In
1874, the legislature was again in session for a period of
three or four months during the winter and spring, and again
an extra session was held in the autumn, a result of the
1876. Boutwell Report, p. 140, Doc. Ev. These figures are presumably
correct. They are quoted as authority by both political parties, and I have
never seen their correctness questioned. The auditor was a Republican and
a Northern man. The rates for 1875-1878 are from the auditor's reports.
1 For example, in his annual message to the legislature Jan. 5, 1875, he
recommended the "most stringent economy in appropriations for the sup-
port of the government, and that every possible step be taken in the direction
of retrenchment and reform. " He recommended biennial sessions of the legis-
lature, a reduction of the number of chancellors from twenty to ten, that
the number of tax collectors in each county be reduced to one, that measures
be adopted to secure the better safe keeping of public moneys, that a special
tax be imposed on litigants, that the appropriations for the state universities
be reduced from $120,000 to $50,000, that the expenses of public printing be
reduced, that all exemption laws be repealed, etc. For the Republican view
of Governor Ames's policy of economy see testimony of United States District
Attorney Walton, Boutwell Report.
UNPOPULAR LEGISLATION 325
Warren County troubles. In 1875, it was in session from
January 5 to the middle of April, and again an extra
session was held in the autumn, this time in consequence of
the Clinton riots. Thus, in five years, there had been
nine sessions of the legislature. The constitution of 1868
left the question of annual or biennial sessions to the discre-
tion of the legislature.1 The platform of the Republican
party in 1873 contained a pledge that thereafter the legisla-
ture should meet biennially, but instead of carrying out the
promise, it almost reversed the process, and adopted the prac-
tice of meeting semi-annually. Doubtless, the per diem
mode of compensation was one of the reasons for the pro-
tracted sessions, although it must be admitted that for sev-
eral years after the war the necessities for legislation were
much greater than before.2 The taxpayers' convention urged
a change to biennial sessions, and declared with truth that it
would mean a saving of $100,000 a year to the people of
the state. A resolution providing for biennial sessions
passed the House, but was defeated in the Senate through the
influence of the governor, who, it is alleged, advised his
friends to vote against it.3
Complaint was not confined to the amount of legislation,
but was also directed quite as much against its general char-
acter. One of its measures was the District Printing Bill,
alleged to have been devised by Governor Ames to enable
him to support a partisan press and control it in his interest.
By the provisions of this act the several chancellors were
authorized to designate certain newspapers in their respec-
tive districts to do the official and legal advertising, such as
publication of delinquent tax lists, notices of sheriffs' sales,
proceedings of boards of supervisors, etc.* There were
1 Article IV. Sec. 6.
2 The compensation of members was fixed in 1870 at $7 per day and 80 cents
per mile going and returning. Every effort to have the compensation of
members reduced was steadily resisted by the colored members. Finally the
pressure became so great that the Republicans passed an act fixing the com-
pensation of members at $500 per year. A motion to fix the amount at $400
was opposed by every colored member except one. At this time-, the com-
pensation of members of the legislature in New Hampshire, Connecticut,
Delaware, New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Nebraska was $3 per day,
and in some instances deductions were made for absences, and the sessions
limited to forty days. In Illinois it was $5 per day, and in Maine, $150 per
year.
8 All the colored members, except ten, voted against biennial sessions.
Of this course the Plaindealer (Republican) said: " It is a shame on the fair
record of the colored members."
4 Act approved April 3, 1874. The distribution of the public printing in
the Holly Springs district may be taken as an illustration of the way in which
326 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
few Republican newspapers in the state at the time, but this
measure caused a number of small sheets, all of which were
short-lived, to spring into existence in order to get the pub-
lic printing. Property was frequently advertised for sale
under execution in a distant part of the judicial district, and
at a point removed from the county in which the sale was to
be made. Publication under such circumstances could, of
course, be of no value, for not one property owner in a hun-
dred ever saw the notice.1 With the repeal of the act which
called these sheets into existence, they disappeared. Many
of them in 1876, changed names and became Democratic
papers. Not one continued permanently as a Republican
paper. The following notice from the Jackson Clarion con-
tains the history of a majority of them : " Died at Jack-
son, Mississippi, on the morning of July 14, 1868, of too
much constitution, the state journal, aged about six months.
Its brief existence was sustained chiefly by convention war-
rants, which having lost their nutritious properties are no
longer healthy newspaper food. The funeral ceremonies
were conducted at a late hour on Saturday evening last, its
editor being chief mourner, and a few negro women and
children putting in an occasional sob. May it rest in peace."
One of the most notorious swindles which the legislature
devised was the Pearl River Scheme, so called. Several
members of the legislature organized the Pearl River Navi-
gation Company, and induced the legislature to give them
the law worked. After the passage of the printing bill, a certain Republican
informed the governor of his desire to start a paper to sustain the administra-
tion, and asked him to require the judicial appointee for the district to desig-
nate him as official printer. The governor replied the following day and
assured the applicant of his hearty cooperation in the enterprise which he
had undertaken. The chancellor, upon receiving his appointment, wrote the
applicant saying : " It is understood, as a matter of course, that the printing
will go to you." He had no type, office, or subscribers. The paper was
printed on one of the old presses in Holly Springs. Lawyers who had im-
portant sales to advertise put them in some other paper at private expense.
Boutwell Report, p. 989.
1 The first Republican newspaper in Mississippi was established by General
James Dugan of the Federal army at Vicksburg in 1867. In the same year
Captain H. T. Fisher and General E. Stafford established the Mississippi
Pilot at Jackson. For several years it was the most influential Republican
journal in the state, and was the organ of the state administration. The
following is a partial list of the short-lived Republican newspapers established
during this period : the Jackson Pilot, Jackson Times, Natchez New South,
Kosciusko Republican, Vicksburg Colored Citizen, Vicksburg Republican,
Meridian Chronicle, Corinth Republican, Friars Point Delta, Austin Cotton
Plant, Oxonian, State Register, Brookhaven Citizen, Fayette Vindicator,
Natchez Post, Seacoast Republican, Vicksburg Monitor, West Point Times,
Grenada Republican, Aberdeen Republican, Vicksburg Times, National
Republican, Okolona News, Holly Springs Tribune, Brandon Argus, Missis-
UNPOPULAR LEGISLATION 327
certain lands granted by the United States for school pur-
poses and for the improvement of the navigable streams of
the state, in consideration of which the company obligated
itself to remove all obstructions to navigation in Pearl River
and otherwise improve its navigable condition. The gov-
ernor approved the bill without taking the proper bonds and
securities that the service would be faithfully performed.
They sold about 105,000 acres of the land, and used the
money without removing a snag from the river.1
Still another measure which became the subject of much
complaint was an act passed, at the instance of the governor
it was alleged, conferring upon him the power to appoint a
tax collector in each county. The collection of taxes had
always been one of the functions of the sheriff, who was an
elective officer, and the most influential one in the county.
This duty was now to be transferred to another set of offi-
cers, who would be equally as influential and independent
of popular control. The governor made a number of ap-
pointments under the act, but before it went into effect the
Supreme Court declared the law unconstitutional.2
Another measure authorized the governor to appoint a
special revenue agent for each county, whose duty it was to
investigate the accounts of sheriffs and treasurers, to enforce
the collection of revenue improperly withheld from the state
and county treasurers, and to hunt up frauds, defalcations, etc.
These agents were to receive 50 per cent of all shortages dis-
covered, or delinquent taxes collected, and were supposed
to be electioneering agents for the governor, who was un-
derstood to be a candidate for the Senate. Some of the
appointees were members of the legislature. This was in
violation of the constitution, which prohibited members from
holding offices of their own creation.3 Another proposed
measure was the Metropolitan Police Bill, by which a sort
sippi Leader, Holmes County Republican, Senatobia Signet, Meridian Ga-
zette, Holly Springs Star, Canton Citizen, Summit Times, Prairie News,
Vicksburg Plaindealer, Jackson Leader, Columbus Press, Macon Free Opin-
ion, Mississippi State Journal, Pontotoc Equal Rights, Copiah Republican,
American Citizen.
1 Testimony of J. H. Estell, Boutwell Report, p. 325.
2 French vs. Mississippi. George E. Harris says this law was passed after
much caucusing, and after pistols were presented to force the members to
vote for it. Testimony before Senate sub-committee, p. 592.
3 Article IV. Sec. 38. Ex- Attorney General Morris (Republican) said :
" These offices were in many instances unknown to the constitution, and un-
known to the history of the state or to the history of any other state, and
wholly unnecessary to the public service. Idle vagabonds belonging to the
legislature were appointed to fill them." Letter in New York Herald, Jan.
7, 1870. Boutwell Report, p. 1082.
328 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
of standing army was to be maintained in the state. It was,
however, defeated.1 One of the "notorious jobs" of the
legislature in 1875 was the lease of the state convicts, several
hundred in number, to one of its own members, for a period
of five years, without compensation to the state, although the
lessee immediately transferred them to another person by way
of sub-lease, for a large sum. The action of the governor in ap-
proving the contract was one of the grounds of impeachment.2
Such were the more notable instances in which the legis-
lature was charged with abusing its power.
VI. THE VICKSBURG TROUBLES
The first trial of the strength of the Ames administration
as to its power to preserve the peace and maintain order,
came in September, 1874, at the time of the troubles in Warren
County known as the Vicksburg Riots. If we may believe
the testimony of the whites, Warren County, and especially
Vicksburg in 1874, had as corrupt and incompetent a govern-
ment as ever afflicted an Anglo-Saxon community. The
senators and representatives in the legislature were colored,
the sheriff could not write a simple return, and he was
believed to be dishonest; the chancery clerk was corrupt
beyond doubt, and not intelligent enough to enter a plain con-
tinuance on the records ; the circuit clerk and every member
of the board of supervisors except one were colored, and
scarcely one of them could read or write ; and four of the eight
councilmen of Vicksburg were colored. In fact, there were
only three white officers in the county.3 The negroes, who
were largely in the majority, had established the " color "
line, and openly declared that the whites should not hold
any of the offices. The whites complained that they paid
99 per cent of the taxes of the county, all of which were
assessed, collected, and disbursed by colored officials. The
town of Vicksburg, the chief seat of the troubles, had in
1874 a population of 11,000, the majority of which was black.
1 The act provided for commissioners at salaries of $3000 each, sergeants
at $1500, captains at $1800, and patrolmen at $100, per month. The esti-
mated cost was $200,000. Only one white man in the House voted for the
measure. Every colored member voted for it. Only one colored member
in the Senate voted against it. The Democrats presented him with a gold-
headed cane for his stand against the measure.
2 Impeachment Testimony, pp. 26, 29.
8 The New York Nation, Vol. XIX. p. 412, gives some "shocking illustra-
tions of incompetency and ignorance " among the officials of Warren County
at this time. Its authority is "an ex-Federal soldier who lived in Vicksburg
for ten years."
THE VICKSBURG TROUBLES 329
The county and city debts, which in 1869 amounted to
813,000, had increased until the city debt alone aggregated
•l^OjOOO.1 Large sums of money had been squandered by
the city government in grants to railroad companies and in
public improvements.2 Early in 1874, the whites organized
a tax-payer's league, the chief purpose of which was to carry
the municipal election in the fall. The Republicans nomi-
nated for mayor a white man then under indictment for
twenty-three offences,3 and for aldermen, seven negroes of
poor character and little intelligence, and one white man who
could neither read nor write, and who was the keeper of a
low grog shop.4 The ticket was so objectionable that but
three white men in the city voted for it.6 The tax payers
nominated candidates under the name of the people's party.
The ticket was supported by the better class of Republicans,
among whom were Hon. George C. McKee, member of Con-
gress, Judge Speed, General Furlong, and forty or fifty
colored voters who had a substantial interest in the welfare
of the city. For weeks before the election, white and colored
militia companies paraded the streets, each trying to intimi-
date the other, and threatening bloodshed. Nothing illus-
trates better the imbecility of the state government than the
fact that within three months after its inauguration it is
found calling for United States troops to maintain the peace
in a town of eleven thousand inhabitants. As early as April,
acting governor Davis telegraphed Governor Ames, then in
Massachusetts, that excitement was high in Vicksburg, and
that they ought to have a company of United States
troops, whereupon the governor applied to Major Allyn,
commander of the post at Jackson, and being refused, tele-
graphed General Emery, at New Orleans, to send the troops.6
Again, July 20, Davis wrote President Grant that serious dis-
turbances were anticipated at Vicksburg, on account of the
approaching election. " Immense armed bodies," said he,
"are parading the street both day and night, and the city
authorities are unable to protect life and property. I feel
constrained to ask for two companies of United States troops.
1 See on this point United States Census Report for 1870 ; testimony of
Judge Speed (Republican) before the Vicksburg committee.
2 Charles Nordhoff is authority for the statement that the Democrats re-
ceived most of the money spent for public improvements in Vicksburg. He
relates an instance in which a Democrat charged the city $500 for moving a
safe from the wharf to the courthouse. Cotton States, p. 82.
8 Ibid. 5 Cotton States, p. 82.
* Testimony of Frederic Speed before Vicksburg Committee, p. 224.
6 Correspondence of Governor Ames, 1874, p. 16.
330 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
I consider them absolutely necessary to prevent riot and
bloodshed." He declared that the executive was powerless
to execute the laws and preserve the peace.1 Again, July 23,
he wrote a long and doleful letter to the Secretary of War,
imploring him to send troops.2 On the 29th of July, Gov-
ernor Ames returned to the state and at once wrote the Presi-
dent that a " serious and alarming condition of affairs exists
in Vicksburg. Infantry and cavalry organizations exist, and
a piece of artillery has been brought to the city." He
declared that it was a political controversy between the
Democrats on one side and the Republicans on the other, and
that the former were masters of the situation, and were con-
sequently opposed to the presence of troops. Again, he
besought the President to send troops, adding almost pathet-
ically that no harm could be done by sending them, as there
were garrisons already in two cities of the state.3 The gov-
ernor was at once informed that the President declined to
move the troops except under a call made strictly in accord-
ance with the provisions of the Constitution. On August 1,
his application was renewed, and the President was informed
that " actual violence " existed. During all the time, there was
no apparent effort on the part of the state government to bring
about peace. During his administration as military governor,
General Ames always had troops at his command to carry out
his orders. To this method of government he was accus-
tomed by habit and training. Upon the first breach of the
peace, he turned almost instinctively to the military, a sup-
port without which his administration could hardly have
stood. The election came off August 4, and the largest
vote ever recorded in the city was polled. The reform ticket
was elected, with the exception of two school trustees.4
1 Correspondence of Governor Ames, 1874, p. 539.
*Ibid. p. 543. *IUd. p. 561.
4 Ibid. p. 599. Several other exciting municipal campaigns took place
in Mississippi during 1874. One of these was in Columbus, in December.
Like the Vicksburg election, it may be said to have constituted one of the
initial skirmishes in the "Revolution" of 1875. That town was likewise
afflicted with bad government, though not to the same extent as Vicksburg.
General B. B. Eggleston, late president of the reconstruction convention,
was candidate for mayor against Mr. Billups, the Democratic candidate.
A few days before the election there was circulated through the town a hand-
bill, with large headlines, '« This Means Business," and under it, in large
letters, "Bread or no Bread." Then followed the announcement that at
a meeting of citizens it had been decided that the negro who voted for Eggles-
ton would, as certain as fate, vote bread and meat out of the mouths of his
wife and children, that the signers were pledged to employ no man who had
been discharged by a member of the club, unless he produced a recommenda-
tion. They said, "You have driven the white man to the verge of ruin,
THE VICKSBURG TROUBLES 331
After the overthrow of the municipal ring in Vicksburg,
the whites turned their attention to county affairs, which
were in a melancholy condition. The chief grievance was
the high rate of taxation and the existence of wholesale fraud
in the county government. The state levy was 14 mills,1 the
county levy 14 mills,2 and the levy for municipal purposes
in Vicksburg was 21 J mills,3 thus making the aggregate rate
of taxation in the city of Vicksburg nearly 5 per cent. And
what was worse, the tax payers had good reason to believe
that the large sums of money thus collected were being stolen
and otherwise misapplied. The sheriff, Peter Crosby, was,
by virtue of his office, also tax collector. In December, he
was to collect the state and county taxes aggregating $160,000.
His bond was notoriously insufficient. It was not dated, no
penalty was prescribed, and the sureties were all colored ex-
cept one, a married woman whose signature did not bind her.
Their signatures were made with marks and without wit-
nesses, they lived in different parts of the state, and some
were not worth one-tenth of the amount for which they were
bound. The district attorney, a Republican, says there were
men on Crosby's bond for $5000 who were not worth five
cents.* The judge of the criminal court, an ex-Union soldier,
and an appointee of Governor Ames, gave his opinion that
$12,000 was the greatest amount that could be realized from
the bond which by law should have been $81,000. 5 The dis-
trict attorney advised the board of supervisors that the bond
was insufficient. The whites petitioned and remonstrated
with the board, urging it to require new bonds, but the board
declined to act. Crosby published a card in one of the city
papers, in which he declared that he would give no further
bonds, nor would he vacate his office until ousted by a judg-
ment of the Supreme Court. In the meantime, the state
auditor, a Republican, had discovered that fraudulent jury
and witness certificates had been issued by the circuit clerk
and he has determined to draw the color line, and if you can stand it, he can.
Every negro who votes for Billups will be protected in every sense of the
term, and every proper assistance will be afforded him in the power of the
white men of Columbus." After the election, a private circular was sent
around to the leading Democratic business men, headed : " ( For Private
Use.) Stand by Your Colors! Hew to the Line!" Then followed two
lists of 69 names, one headed " Worthy," the other " Unworthy," and
signed by "the Members of the Club." Billups was elected. Cotton
States, p. 83.
1 Report State Auditor, 1874. 2 Ibid.
8 Testimony of Warren Cowan, Vicksburg Report, p. 382.
4 Testimony of Luke Lea, Vicksburg Report, p. 313.
5 Testimony of Frederic Speed, ibid. p. 216.
332 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
of the county, and that a large amount of county warrants
had been forged by the chancery clerk and were in circula-
tion. Davenport, the colored chancery clerk, refused to al-
low the tax-payer's committee to examine his books.1 At
the November term of the court, the grand jury, consisting of
ten freedmen and seven whites, found seven indictments
against Cordoza, ex-circuit clerk, and at the time state super-
intendent of education, for embezzlement of $2000, and for
forging witness certificates : five indictments against Daven-
port for forging county warrants ; and two against Dorsey,
the circuit clerk, for forgery and embezzlement. The district
attorney testified that if the grand jury had thought neces-
sary, it might have found one hundred indictments against
Cordoza and Dorsey, and fifty against Davenport.2 After the
indictments were found, records essential to their conviction
were stolen from the sheriff's and chancery clerk's offices.
These papers were afterward discovered buried under Daven-
port's house.
In this situation, a " tax-payers' convention," was called, in
which Republicans as well as Democrats participated. It
resolved to take heroic action, and on December 2, demanded
the resignation of the sheriff, chancery clerk, and coroner.3
Crosby asked for time to consider the matter ; later he refused
to resign. His refusal was reported to the convention,
whereupon that body, five hundred strong, proceeded to the
courthouse, repeated the request, and forcibly secured his
resignation. Davenport also tendered his resignation, and
left the state. Crosby notified the circuit judge that he had
yielded to force, and resigned his office. The judge then tele-
graphed Governor Ames that an armed mob was in possession
of the courthouse and jail, having forced most of the officers
to flee, and that he was powerless to execute the laws. The
convention detailed one of its number, an ex-Union soldier, to
take charge of the sheriff's office until another sheriff could
be elected. Crosby proceeded to Jackson to confer with the
governor, who advised him that his resignation was void, and
that he had the power to call the posse comitatus to his aid, to
hold his office, and to exercise its duties. The governor fur-
thermore promised to cooperate with him in his efforts to
regain the office.4 Crosby returned to Vicksburg accom-
panied by Colonel Lee and General Packer of the governor's
1 Vicksburg Report, p. 215.
2 Testimony of Luke Lea, ibid. p. 302.
8 Ibid. p. 324.
* Testimony of Adelbert Ames, Vicksburg Report, p. 539.
THE VICKSBUKG TROUBLES 333
staff, and shortly afterward had a hand-bill printed and dis-
tributed throughout the county by runners. He stated in this
paper that he had been compelled by an armed mob to resign
his office, and he appealed to all Republicans of the county,
black and white, to " support him and fight the cause on its
merits." 1 The card was read in all the colored churches
throughout the county on Sunday, December 6, by ministers
who impressed upon their congregations the duty of arming
and marching to Crosby's aid. Meantime, Governor Ames
had issued a proclamation reciting that riotous and disorderly
persons had combined to deprive colored men in Vicksburg
of their civil and political rights. All such persons were
warned to disperse immediately. At the same time, he sent
orders to the captain of a negro militia company to suppress
the riot, and cooperate with Crosby in his attempt to regain
possession of his office. This added fuel to the flame. There
were two white militia companies in Vicksburg officered by
white men, one of whom had been a brigadier general, and
another a colonel in the Federal army. The governor did
not communicate with either of these, and the negro captain
was directed not to take orders from them. The reason
assigned by the governor was his belief that neither of the
white companies would treat his commands with the slightest
respect, and that Captain Hall's color was an indication of
his loyalty and patriotism.2 On Sunday afternoon, it was re-
ported in Vicksburg that the whole available strength of the
negro population was massing, with the intent of marching
upon the town next morning. The report was doubtless
exaggerated into alarming proportions. The dread of negro
insurrection, which has at one time or another darkened every
hearthstone in the South, took possession of the people, and
they saw visions of slaughter, rape, arson, and robbery.
Adjutant General Packer went out to stop the negroes, but
without success. At daybreak Monday morning, the alarm
was sounded by the watchman from the top of the court-
house. It proved false, however, but was again struck later
in the morning by the same watchman, who announced that a
large body of negroes was approaching the city. The streets
were soon filled with excited men, and weeping women and
children. At eight o'clock A.M. the mayor published and
circulated a manifesto declaring that the governor's proclama-
tion was false, warned all armed bodies to disperse at once,
and commanded all good citizens to hold themselves in readi-
1 Majority Report, Vicksburg Report, p. 24.
2 Testimony of Adelbert Ames, ibid. p. 545.
334 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
ness to report at any call for the purpose of enforcing his
orders. At twelve o'clock, he issued another proclamation
closing the saloons, and advising the people to be " quiet and
discreet, but firm." The city was then placed under martial
law, and supreme command delegated to an ex-Confederate
officer. With a force of one hundred men, he moved out to meet
the approaching negro host. The two leaders had a conference,
and the negroes agreed to withdraw. As they proceeded to
do so, they were fired into, as they claim, with the result that
seven were killed. While this was going on, another battle
was taking place at the Pemberton monument. The testi-
mony as to who began the firing is conflicting. The whites
claim that the negroes fired upon them first. In the several
conflicts which ensued, two whites and twenty-nine blacks
were killed.1 Thirty prisoners were taken, but were soon
released. All the whites, Republicans as well as Democrats,
were found together in the conflict. An ex-Federal army
officer testified that one hundred ex-Union soldiers took part in
the fight — a more conspicuous part than that taken by the ex-
Confederates.2 On December 21, two weeks after the riot,
the President issued a proclamation commanding all " turbu-
lent and disorderly persons " to retire peaceably to their re-
spective homes within five days.3 In a few days quiet was
restored, although the governor continued to call upon the
President for troops.
The legislature met in extraordinary session on December
17, at the call of the governor, who sent in a message in which
he warmly denounced the whites as "insurgents," and de-
clared that ample legal remedies existed for the wrongs com-
plained of. He expressed sorrow that "a portion of the
citizens could find it in their hearts to deprive by violence
their neighbors and fellow-citizens of their political rights " ;
declared that the officials and prominent men holding views
different from those held by the " insurgents " had been com-
1 See Majority Report, Vicksburg Committee. Mr. Mayes, in his Life and
Times of L. Q. C. Lamar, p. 237, says the number killed was one white man
and fifteen negroes. Andrews, in his History of the United States During
the Last Quarter of a Century, put the number at fifty-nine.
2 See testimony of General C. E. Furlong, Vicksburg Report, p. 100.
General Furlong served through the Civil War, and was on Sherman's staff
at the time of the surrender of Vicksburg. He controlled a squad of cavalry
in the Vicksburg Riot, and otherwise championed the cause of the whites.
3 Richardson's Messages and Papers of the Presidents, Vol. VII. p. 322.
The New York Nation, commenting on this action of the President, said: " It
is difficult to make out what the grounds for the proclamation are now, and
if the state government is not strong enough to keep the peace in a single
town, it must be so feeble that it needs permanent assistance. XIX. p. 412.
THE VICKSBURG TROUBLES 335
pelled to flee ; doubted whether there was any cause for com-
plaint ; declared that the acts of the insurgents bore a strong
resemblance to Mexican and South American insurrections ;
and informed the legislature that he was without means to
suppress the disorders.1 He recommended that the legisla-
ture make provision for suppressing the "insurrection" in
Warren County, and for suppressing similar outbreaks likely
to occur elsewhere. The legislature responded by adopting a
joint resolution calling upon the President for troops. Upon
the passage of this resolution, forty-six members of the legis-
lature published an appeal to the people of the United States,
in which they charged the Republicans with attempting to
introduce martial law in Mississippi, for political purposes.
They protested against the action of the governor, and the
majority of the legislature, which, they said, was based on no
evidence whatever. The legislature also appointed a com-
mittee of investigation. January 4, 1875, the governor tele-
graphed the President that "the majority of the legislative
committee sent to Vicksburg, report to me that a great feel-
ing of insecurity prevails there, that certain officers cannot
safely discharge their duties, that armed defiance of all law
and authority holds full sway at the courthouse, and conse-
quently I am compelled to ask you to send troops there to
uphold and protect the lawful authorities."2 Meantime, the
board of supervisors had ordered a special election to fill the
vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Crosby. The legis-
lature, by special act, extended the period of notice to be given
for special elections, thus invalidating the order of the board.
The election, however, was held, the colored voters refusing
to take any part in it. A Mr. Flannagan was elected, took
possession of the sheriff's office, and entered upon the dis-
charge of his duties. On January 5, 1875, General P. H.
Sheridan telegraphed the governor from New Orleans that he
had that day assumed control of the Department of the Gulf,
and that a company of troops would be sent to Vicksburg the
1 Of this message, the Jackson Clarion of Dec. 10, 1874, said:. "If his
purpose is to urge the passage of laws prescribing severe penalties for delin-
quent and thieving officials, and affording relief to the tax payers, all will be
well. But if it is to organize a military force of cutthroats and vagabonds to
overrun the state, and bully the people, we would earnestly advise him to
desist. He must not misunderstand the temper of the people. He com-
menced the conflagration by the issue of his ill-timed proclamation. He can
extinguish it as readily, by taking care that lawless officials are brought to
punishment, and not sustained in their crimes."
2 Correspondence of Governor Ames, 1874. The Majority Report of the
legislative committee was signed by two white and three negro members.
336 EECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
following day.1 The order was carried out, and on Monday,
January 18, Major George E. Head, U. S. A., with a squad
of soldiers, entered the sheriff's office, ejected Flannagan and
reinstated Crosby.2
The whole course of Governor Ames in regard to the
Warren County troubles was disapproved by the whites, both
republicans and Democrats.3 They said that he showed a
lack of personal interest in their grievances, that he should
have had some word of condemnation for the delinquent and
criminal officials, and that he should have visited Vicksburg
in person and urged Crosby to give a satisfactory bond,
instead of advising him to call out the posse comitatus and
resist the whites.4 The charge that it was the design and
purpose of Ames to bring on a conflict between the whites
and the blacks does not seem to be well founded. The
utmost that he can be accused of was bad judgment and
possibly indifference in the matter. If any one more than
another can be held responsible for the unfortunate affair, it
is Crosby. His influence over the negroes of the county was
absolute. The poor deluded creatures were fooled into
marching upon the city in a mole-like way under the orders
of Crosby, with a vague impression that it was Republican to
do so. In fact there was a story afloat at the time that Gen-
eral Grant and Governor Ames were there in person, and de-
sired them to attack the city. The negroes were fired into
and dispersed as any mob would have been, Crosby, in the
meantime, having deserted them.
The Vicksburg affair was the subject of investigation by a
committee of Congress. The Clarion of December 17 de-
clared that the investigation was courted, and asked that
"the facts be allowed to go to the country." The members
of the committee were Messrs. Hurlburt of Illinois, Conger of
1 Correspondence, 1875, p. 238. On the same day, Sheridan sent his cele-
brated despatch to the Secretary of War, recommending Congress to declare
the "ringleaders" in the Vicksburg affair banditti, and leave him to do the
rest, remarking that no further action by Congress would be necessary. The
legislature voted the general a resolution of thanks for this somewhat cruel
threat. The Democrats, of course, protested against it.
2 New York Nation, Jan. 21, 1875.
8 Justice Tarbell of the Supreme Court said : "I advised against any at-
tempt to reinstate Crosby, because I regarded him as unworthy.1' Impeach-
ment Testimony, p. 120. Charles Nordhoff says he was told by honest
Republicans in Mississippi that the riot could have been prevented had the
governor done his duty. Cotton States in 1875.
4 The Jackson Clarion of Dec. 10, 1874, in a long editorial, fixed the re-
sponsibility for the riot on Governor Ames, and declared that it was the
beginning of the end.
THE VICKSBURG TROUBLES 337
Michigan, Williams of Wisconsin, Speer of Pennsylvania, and
O'Brien of Maryland. They took testimony for two weeks
at Vicksburg, examining in all 115 witnesses. As might
have been expected, there was a majority and a minority
report. The majority fixed the blame on the whites, but
admitted that much misgovernment existed in the affairs of
the county.
CHAPTER NINTH
THE KUKLUX DISTURBANCES IN MISSISSIPPI
THE so-called Kuklux Klan is said to have originated in
Tennessee in 1866, during the administration of Governor
Brownlow, and to have been at first an association of young
men for mutual pleasure and amusement.1 The nocturnal
perambulations of the freedmen, their habit of running away
from labor contracts, the large amount of petit larceny
among them at this time, the abandonment of their crops to
attend political meetings, their participation in the loyal
leagues, and their alleged insolence to former masters
created a necessity for some kind of restraint, as the whites
believed. The Kuklux organization was designed to accom-
plish this purpose.2 In its beginnings, it was similar to the
old slave patrol, and was intended simply to scare the super-
stitious blacks into good behavior and obedience. The
whites allege that it was to serve as a sort of offset to the
Loyal Leagues.3 These were secret political organizations
among the colored people, and were generally organized and
presided over by their white allies. Meetings were usually
held at night in some out-of-the-way place, and were ha-
rangued by white Republican speakers. These organizations
solidified the black vote, for there was a league in every
community, and every colored man was a member.4
General N. B. Forest was reputed to have been at the
head of the Kuklux organization in the South, and it was
charged that he introduced it into Mississippi, while engaged
1 D. L. Wilson, Century Magazine, Vol. VI. p. 398.
2 For the alleged necessity for such an organization, see testimony of Gen-
eral John B. Gordon, before the Kuklux committee ; see also testimony of
General Forest.
8 The Jackson Clarion of March 21, 1871, said if the Kuklux Klan really
existed, it would not recommend its disbandment during the existence of
the Loyal Leagues, whose ' ' conspiracies the Kuklux was intended to circum-
vent."
4 The following is a part of the oath alleged to have been taken by mem-
bers of the Lynch Council, No. 33, of the Jackson League : "I will do all in
my power to elect true and reliable Union men and supporters of the govern-
ment to all offices of profit or trust, from the lowest to the highest, in ward,
town, county, and general government."
338
THE KtJKLUX DISTURBANCES IN MISSISSIPPI 839
in railroad building in the eastern portion of the state.1 At
first, the organization had among its members some of the
most influential citizens of the state — distinguished leaders
of the Confederate armies, but as soon as the original purpose
of the organization was .perverted, the better class of men
abandoned it.2 The original purposes of the organization as
set forth in the prescript were the protection of the weak,
innocent, and defenceless from the outrages of lawless
and brutal persons ; the relief of the injured and oppressed;
the aiding of widows and orphans of Confederate soldiers ;
and assistance in the execution of all " constitutional " laws.3
The mysterious organization, gruesome rites, and the
strange language of the Klan were well calculated to strike
terror into the minds of a superstitious race emasculated by
centuries of slavery. Its sphere of operations was styled the
Invisible Empire ; the chief functionary was the Grand
Wizard ; each state was a Realm ruled over by a Grand
Dragon ; each congressional district was a Dominion, at the
head of which was the Grand Titan; each county was a
Province under the rule of a Grand Giant ; and each county
was subdivided into Camps or Dens, each governed by a
Grand Cyclops. The members of a Den were called Ghouls.4
The mysterious constitution of the organization was not less
terrifying than the manner in which the members disguised
themselves when in active service. The prevailing costume
was a long white robe reaching to the knees, and slashed up
the sides for convenience in running. The covering for the
face was a white mask containing holes for the eyes. The
headgear was sometimes a high cardboard hat, but more fre-
quently a sort of cap with long ears or horns attached. The
front part of the dress was often disfigured with skulls and
crossbones or other hideous designs. The horses ridden by
the Kuklux were disguised quite as effectively as the riders.6
Meetings were presided over by the captain, and admission
was by password only. Motions for " waiting upon " certain
individuals could be made by any member and were put by
the captain. It was alleged that sometimes the Klan in one
community would call upon the Klan in a neighboring com-
1 Testimony of Governor R. C. Powers, Kuklux Report, p. 586.
2 Testimony of S. J. Gohlson, pp. 854-860, and of J. F. Sessions, p. 216,
ibid.
8 What purports to be the prescript is printed in the Kuklux Report, pp.
12-14.
4 Lalor's Encyclop. of Pol. Sci. II. p. 680.
6 For descriptions of disguises worn in Mississippi, see Kuklux Report,
pp. 274, 327, 343, 467.
340 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
munity to execute its decree. This was said to have been a
common practice in the counties of Mississippi lying along
the Alabama line.1
The most exaggerated tales were circulated among the freed-
men in regard to the character and strength of the Kuklux.
The mere rumor that they were " riding " in the neighbor-
hood was sufficient to cause every black to retire to his cabin.
It was common among them to magnify a band of a dozen
into a hundred. They were never visited by less than fifty,
and the number was usually reported to be two or three hun-
dred. The idea was widespread among the negroes during the
early days of reconstruction that the Kuklux were spirits of
dead Confederate soldiers, and were possessed of supernatural
powers, such as the ability to take themselves to pieces at
will, rattle their bones, and drink whole pailfuls of water.
The Kuklux practice of conversing in mysterious and unin-
telligible language, the negroes called " mummicking." They
told of a horrible monster who lived in the Yazoo swamps,
and went about the land with a flesh bag in the shape of a
heart " hollering for fried nigger meat," a delicacy for which
it had an insatiable appetite. The " decree " of the camp was
usually delivered to the person for whom it was intended by
the captain, in a pompous manner, and was pronounced as an
order of the Grand Cyclops registered in some corner of
Hades. If the decree was simply a warning, the offender
was informed that it was the practice of the Klan never to
give its warnings but once. The notice was usually posted
in some conspicuous place about the premises of the person
for whom it was intended. The following notice found on
the door-post of a Freedmen's Bureau Agent in Rankin
County, in 1868, is typical of the manner in which the Kuklux
delivered its warnings.2
K, K. K. Dismal Swamp
2D, XIA7 llth hour
Mene, mene, tekel upharsin. The bloody dagger is
drawn; the trying hour is at hand; beware! Your steps are
marked; the eye of the dark chief is upon you. First he
warns; then the avenging dagger flashes in the moonlight.
By Order of the Grand Cylops :
LIXTO
1 Governor Alcorn in an interview in the New York Democrat of April 17,
1871, is reported as saying : " I have no doubt that there is such a thing as
Kukluxism in the Southern states, but there is none in Mississippi unless the
bands of desperadoes along the Alabama line can be called Kuklux."
2 Pat in evidence before the reconstruction committee. H. Mis. Docs.
3d Ses. 40th Cong.
THE KUKLUX DISTURBANCES IN MISSISSIPPI 341
Here is another taken from the luka Gazette : —
K: K: K:
BLOODY MONTH
Skeleton Holloiv, Dark Moon, Silent Hour
In hoc signum. To the veiled brotherhood of subdivision No. 9.
The Grand Cyclops never sleeps. His bony fingers have pointed
to the " Bleeding Band7' and his messenger will greet you in the
24th revolution on the Spirit's Dial. Mortals have threatened the
Band. The Bloody hand is raised to warn. Be cautious lest it
fall. The Sword is unsheathed & red. Let Tyrants tremble.
H. K. 3. 7.
O.
Sub. K. T. and Bearer of the Diadem.
Here is another : J —
(A picture of crossed swords, coffin, skull and crossbones, owl,
bloody moon. Train of cars, each labelled K. K. K.)
Dam your Soul ! The horrible sepulcher and bloody moon has
at last arrived. Some live today, tomorrow "Die." We the un-
dersigned understand through our Grand Cyclops that you have
recommended a big Black Nigger for Male Agent on our nu rode;
wel sir, Jest you understand in time if he gets on the rode you
can make up your mind to pull roape. If you have anything to
say in regard to the matter, meet the Grand Cyclops and Conclave
at Den No. 4, 12 o'clock midnight Oct 1, 1871.
When you are in Calera we want you to hold your tongue and
not speak so much with your mouth or otherwise you will be taken
on supprize and led out by the Klan and learnt to stretch hemp.
Beware ! Beware ! Beware ! Beware !
PHILLIP ISENBAUM
Grand Cyclops
JOHN BANKSTON
ESON DAVES
You know who and all WARREN THOMAS
others of the Klan. BLOODY BONES
The Kuklux organization does not seem to have attracted
any attention in Mississippi until 1868. It was charged by
the Republicans that in the campaign of that year against
the Constitution, the whites terrorized the negroes by the
Kuklux method, and either kept them away from the polls or
intimidated them into voting against the Constitution. Gen-
eral Gillem, in his report for 1868-1869 said: "The great
1 Put in evidence before the reconstruction committee.
342 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
defect in the administration of justice is not in the courts ;
after offenders are once in custody their trial and punish-
ment usually follow. The difficulty lies in identifying and
arresting criminals. In many instances crimes either of
murder or aggravated assault and battery are committed at
night by persons in disguise who cannot be recognized by
their victims or witnesses." 1 The election of 1869 for state
officers and members of the legislature was the occasion for
further alleged Kuklux manoeuvres. It was not, however,
until after the readmission of the state to the Union that the
Kuklux disturbances became alarming, and for a while threat-
ened to subvert the peace and order of the state. The
passing of the Freedmen's Bureau in 1869 with its officials
in every community, and the withdrawal of a majority of the
troops, removed a restraint, which had, to a great extent,
curbed the lawless spirit. Offences against freedmen and
Northern men now increased to such an extent as to em-
barrass the civil authorities in the execution of the laws.
Alcorn on November 10, 1869, while a candidate for gov-
ernor, had published a card in which he declared that in the
event of his election, " Society should no longer be governed
by the pistol and the bowie knife."2 He was elected, and
shortly after the meeting of the legislature, sent in a mes-
sage recommending the enactment of drastic measures to
break up the Kuklux organizations. The legislature, in
accordance with his recommendation, passed, on July 21,
a stringent law for this purpose. It was made unlawful for
any person to appear in a mask or disguise, or to prowl about
the houses of other persons. The penalty for travelling
about in disguise to the disturbance of the peace was fixed
at not less than $100 and not more than $500, and imprison-
ment at the discretion of the court. The penalty for enter-
ing or attempting to enter any house in disguise was declared
to be a felony punishable by imprisonment in the penitentiary
for a period not less than one year and not more than five.
The penalty for committing assault in disguise was fixed at
imprisonment in the penitentiary for a period not less than
five years and not more than ten. It was made the duty
of peace officers to request all disguised persons whom they
might discover, to unmask, and upon their refusal, to arrest
them with or without warrant. They were empowered to
call upon bystanders for aid in making arrests, and the pen-
1 Report Secretary of War, 1868-1869, p. 1054.
2 Appendix to H. and S. Journal, 1871, p. 1214.
THE KUKLUX DISTURBANCES IN MISSISSIPPI 343
alty for refusal to render aid in such cases was fixed at not
more than $500, and imprisonment not exceeding six months.
Official neglect of duty was punishable by a fine not exceed-
ing $1000, and imprisonment not exceeding one year. The
governor was authorized to offer rewards not exceeding
$5000 for the arrest of any person guilty of attempting to
enter a house or attempting to commit assault in disguise,
and the reward was to be paid out of the treasury of the
county in which the offence was committed. It was made
the duty of all judges of the criminal courts to give this act
in their charges to the grand jury at each term of the court.1
In spite of the law, the disturbances increased. The gov-
ernor offered large rewards without effect. He then asked
the legislature to give him authority to offer rewards as
high as $25,000 which amount he thought would " draw the
cowardly assassins from their hiding-places."2 The chief
defence of persons charged with offences of this kind was the
alibi. The governor attributed the failure to convict to the
sympathy of the juries for persons thus accused, and alleged
that witnesses were afraid to testify for fear of personal
violence.
On the 23d of March, 1871, President Grant sent a special
message to Congress, in which he declared that life and prop-
erty were insecure in some of the Southern states, and that
carriers of the mail and collectors of the revenue were in
danger of personal violence. That the power to correct the
evil was beyond the control of the state authorities, he felt
certain, and he recommended appropriate legislation to meet
the case.3 Accordingly, what is known as the Enforcement
Act was passed on April 20. Its most important pro-
vision was the extension of the jurisdiction of the Federal
courts to Kuklux cases. A heavy penalty was fixed for
"conspiring to levy war against the government of the
United States, delaying the execution of the Federal laws,
or attempting to deter any person from voting, holding
office, or acting as a witness or juror in the Federal courts.
It authorized the President to employ the land or naval
forces of the United States to suppress disorders in case the
state authorities were unable or unwilling to do so, and to
suspend the writ of habeas corpus during the continuance
of the Kuklux troubles. The act also authorized Federal
1 Laws of Miss. 1870, p. 89.
a Appendix to H. and S. Journal, 1871, p. 1213.
8 Affairs in the insurrectionary states, Vol. I. p. 1.
344 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
judges to exclude from juries those who were deemed to be
accomplices.1
The legislature of Mississippi memorialized the senators
and representatives from the state to vote for the passage of
the act, and they all complied with the request. The act
seems to have accomplished the purpose for which it was
designed, for by the end of the year 1872, the Kuklux
troubles had practically ceased. An attempt to extend the
provisions of the act passed the Senate, but failed in the
House.2
Before the passage of the Kuklux Act, a joint committee
of twenty-one senators and representatives had been ap-
pointed to inquire into the condition of affairs in the late
insurrectionary states. Early in June, a sub-committee
began taking testimony at Washington. On the 22d of Sep-
tember, a sub-committee of five was appointed to visit Mis-
sissippi and take further testimony. The committee went
first to Macon, where it took testimony from November 6 to
November 9, examining in all sixteen witnesses, of whom ten
were white and six black. On the 9th, the committee went
to Columbus, where it took testimony until the 17th, examin-
ing in all forty-six witnesses, of whom thirty-six were white
and ten were black. The testimony relating to Mississippi
embraces two large octavo volumes of twelve hundred closely
printed pages, and contains a vast amount of material bearing
upon the political and social condition of the state during
this period.
One of the most prominent witnesses before the sub-com-
mittee at Macon was Governor R. C. Powers, a Northern
man, and at that time an extensive planter in the county.
He told the committee that with the exception of a half-
dozen counties adjoining Alabama, there had been no diffi-
culty in enforcing the law in Mississippi, and that the only
lawlessness worth mentioning was that committed by dis-
guised bands who went about the country at night.3 Gov-
ernor Powers expressed the opinion that much of the crime
1 Lalor's Ency«lop. of Pol. Sci. Vol. II. p. 681. The Clarion of April 14,
1871, said of this act : " It is predicated on no other foundation than the mal-
ice and cowardly hatred of its authors for the white inhabitants of the South-
ern states, and their desire to retain power at the cost of honor and principle
will intensify the opposition to Republican rule and hasten its overthrow."
2 The only speech of note made by Adelbert Ames while representing Mis-
sissippi in the United States Senate was in favor of this measure. He gave a
gloomy picture of affairs in the state. His colleague, Senator Alcorn, vigor-
ously opposed the measure, and denied the allegations of Ames in regard to
affairs in Mississippi. Globe, 42d Cong. 2d Ses. App. p. 393.
8 Kuklux Testimony, p. 584.
THE KUKLUX DISTURBANCES IN MISSISSIPPI 345
in Noxubee County was committed by men from an adjacent
county in Alabama. It was his further opinion that the man
who took a bold and open stand against the Kuklux would
be in danger of personal violence. With a few honorable
exceptions, the most influential men did not take the lead in
calling indignation meetings for the purpose of denouncing
Kuklux outrages. That such a policy would have done much
to discourage the lawless spirit there can be little doubt.
Until the evidence became indisputable, the Democratic press
denied the existence of such an organization as the Kuklux.1
Some of the papers assumed a sort of apologetic tone, and
sought to excuse and palliate their acts. There were, how-
ever, some papers that denounced them as assassins and
midnight banditti. Such a paper was published in the town
of Macon.2
Some of the most sensational testimony before the general
committee at Washington was that of one John R. Taliaferro
of Noxubee County. Taliaferro was a Southern man, and
claimed to be an ex-Confederate soldier and a Democrat in
his politics. He alleged that, although not a member of the
Kuklux organization, he had, upon invitation, gone along with
them in several of their raids. The pass-words " Hail " and
" Mount Nebo," he said, admitted to the camps of Winston,
Lauderdale, Kemper, Lowndes, and Oktibbeha counties in
Mississippi and in Pickens County, Alabama. The signal
for distress, he said, was generally " Kosciusko." In some
communities the words " Avalanche " or " Bleecher " were
the signals. In public places, the sign of recognition was the
drawing of the hand across the chin, and the response was
given by placing the hand on the lapel of the coat. Meet-
ings were held regularly every two weeks at such time and
place as was appointed by the captain. No written com-
munication was permitted. Minor punishments, such as
1 The Clarion of Dec. 13, 1870, said it did not believe that such an organi-
zation existed in the state. In the issue of March 21, 1871, it admitted the
existence of the Kuklux Klan, and said its origin was due to the "instinct of
self-preservation."
2 This was the Macon Beacon, a Democratic journal, published by Ward and
Ferris. In the issue of May 14, 1870, it was said : "These midnight banditti
are doing more to thwart the peace and prosperity of our country than a wise
legislation of years can counteract. Our people should personally endeavor
to remove these foul ulcers that now and then break out where bad blood
exists, and apply remedies that will finally restore these diseased parts to
healthy action. It can be done calmly and soothingly, but it must be done
firmly. It should be made disreputable to aid or countenance such outrages,
and the very perpetrators will then pause and look back with horror on the
deeds of darkness which they have blindly committed."
346 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
whippings or warnings to leave, were usually attended to
by the local Klan, but if life was to be taken, a Klan from
another county or from Alabama was called upon to execute
the decree.1
Mr. Baskerville, a merchant and planter of Noxubee County,
and an ex-Confederate lieutenant colonel, testified that there
was no such organization as the Kuklux Klan in the state of
Mississippi, although he admitted that occasionally disguised
men committed deeds of violence here and there. He posi-
tively denied Taliaferro's allegations in regard to the Kuklux
organizations in Noxubee County.2
Winston, Lowndes, Monroe, Chickasaw, and Kemper
counties were all the theatres of more or less disturbances,
and each was the subject of special investigation by the Com-
mittee of Congress. Kemper County for ten years after the
war was the scene of animosities and feuds which finally
culminated in the assassination of the most prominent figure
in the troubles. This was the sheriff, W. W. Chisholm, an
ex-Confederate soldier, but a radical of the most pronounced
type. His friends allege that he was the subject of persecu-
tion from the time of his conversion to radicalism until the
time of his death in 1877. The Democrats, on the other
hand, claim that he was a violent person, and an enemy to law
and order. He testified at Washington on the condition of
affairs in the county, and asserted that great lawlessness ex-
isted there.3
One of the most notable cases of kukluxing in Lowndes
County was that of the Rev. Mr. Galloway, a Congregational
minister, and the teacher of a negro school near Caledonia.
1 Taliaferro's testimony is printed in Vol. I. of the Kuklux Report on Mis-
sissippi, pp. 223-246.
2 Kuklux Report, pp. 373-483.
8 The Kemper County troubles have been made the subject of two volumes
written from very different standpoints. One of these volumes, entitled the
Chisholm Massacre ; or a Picture of Home Rule in Mississippi, was written
by J. M. Wells, an ex-Union soldier and a United States deputy revenue
collector. The book gives a terrible and no doubt overdrawn picture of
affairs in the county. The chief theme is the alleged massacre of Chisholm
and his daughter and son in 1877. The author gives a somewhat pathetic turn
to the story, and it aroused considerable feeling in the North. It should be
said that the killing of the children was purely accidental. Kemper County
Vindicated — A Peep at Radical Rule in Mississippi, is the title of the other
history of the Kemper County disturbances. The author is James Lynch of
West Point, Mississippi, and the book is written as an answer to the charges
made by Wells. He fixes the responsibility for the troubles on Chisholm,
and gives an interesting, but no doubt exaggerated, account of the abuses of
radical government. Wells's book was published by the Chicago Monumen-
tal Association, 1880 ; Lynch's, by E. J. Hale & Co., New York, 1879.
THE KUKLUX DISTURBANCES IN MISSISSIPPI 347
He was called on by a band of "one hundred disguised
men," who ordered him to stop teaching. They informed
Mr. Galloway that they were the spirits of dead Confederate
soldiers, and had come all the way from Manassas to see that
poor widows were not imposed upon. He says they delivered
their order to him in a " lordly manner," and endeavored to
make him promise that he would stop teaching. In a few
days, he closed his school. Shortly thereafter, he received an-
other visit from the Kuklux, who ordered him to stop preach-
ing to the negroes. They accused him of preaching doctrines
calculated to inflame the minds of his colored parishioners
against the whites, and even with drilling the negroes at night
for the purpose of making war upon the Kuklux. This Gallo-
way positively denied. They plainly told him that there
were preachers enough in Monroe County without him. He
refused to make any promises, and they finally went away
without doing him harm, but warned him of the consequences
of his disobedience. He admits that he advised the negroes
to shoot into the Kuklux, in order to frighten them, but
steadily discountenanced every suggestion of armed resist-
ance, in fact, used his personal influence to prevent them
from attacking the Kuklux. He continued his preaching
and was not again molested.1
Perhaps no case of kukluxing in the South was the sub-
ject of more comment throughout the country than the whip-
ping of Colonel A. P. Huggins in Monroe County. Huggins
was an ex- Union soldier, born in Ohio, and reared in Michi-
gan. At the close of the war, he became an agent of the
Freedmen's Bureau in Mississippi, which office he held for
about eighteen months. He then became assistant assessor
of internal revenue, and superintendent of public schools,
both of which offices he held at the time of his whipping in
March, 1870. He had made himself obnoxious to the whites
of the county by his extravagant administration of the pub-
lic school system. While making an official tour through
the county, he stopped, upon invitation, to spend the night
with a respectable white Democratic citizen, by the name of
Ross. He had been warned during the day that the Kuklux
were " riding " for him the night before, and would in all
likelihood pay him a visit the following night. About ten
o'clock, he was awakened by a loud call at the gate, and upon
looking out of the window, he saw the premises covered with
men dressed in white. They demanded that he come out;
i His testimony is found in the Kuklux Report, pp. 662-676.
348 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
informed him that at a regular meeting of their camp, his
case had been under consideration, and that they had certain
warnings which it was necessary for them to deliver to him
privately, as it was against their rules to deliver warnings in
the presence of women and children. He at first refused to
appear. Mr. Ross was then ordered to bring him out, or to
place a light in his room. Upon his refusal to do so, they
threatened to set fire to the house. Upon the solicitation
of Mr. Ross, Colonel Huggins agreed to leave the house.
Upon reaching the gate, he asked the chief to deliver his
little bit of warning and allow him to go. The captain then
pronounced the decree in a pompous manner, saying that it
had been given in a certain den and registered in some cor-
ner of hell, the exact location of the registrar's office having
escaped his memory. The substance of the decree was that
he should leave the county within ten days, and relieve the
people from all taxes. The captain further informed him
that the rule of the camp was, first to give the warning,
second, to enforce obedience to their laws by whipping ; third,
to kill by the Klan altogether ; and fourth, if the offender
still refused to obey, they were sworn to kill him "privately
by assassination or otherwise." They told him that his chief
offence was in collecting taxes to keep radicals in office. Not
deterred by their threat, Huggins says he told them that he
would leave Monroe County at his pleasure, whereupon a
number of men sprang over the fence, seized him, and dis-
armed him. They then carried him a quarter of a mile down
the road, when they stopped and asked him if he had changed
his mind. He replied that he had not. Both he and Mr. Ross,
who had followed, attempted to reason with them, but they
could not be moved, and insisted that he must leave the state.
Presently, one of the crowd appeared with a stirrup strap of
stout leather and proceeded to whip him. They gave him
seventy-five lashes, and then went away, leaving him with
Mr. Ross.1
In Chickasaw County several persons were whipped by the
Kuklux, the best known cases being the whipping of E. C.
Echols and Cornelius McBride. Echols was a Southern man,
but a Republican in politics.
The only noteworthy Kuklux demonstration in Pontotoc
County was a raid into the town of Pontotoc on the night of
1 Colonel Huggins' s testimony, as given at Washington, July 19, embraces
thirty-three pages in the Kuklux Report, beginning with p. 265. He testified
again before the sub-committee at Columbus, Mississippi, November 13. See
pp. 820, 828.
THE KUKLUX DISTURBANCES IN MISSISSIPPI 349
May 12, 1871. The purpose of the raid was to capture
f Mr. Flournoy, who enjoyed the distinction of being the most
extreme and obnoxious radical in the state.1 He was the
editor of a sheet called Equal Rights, and held the office of
county superintendent of education. Judge Austin Pollard,
chancellor of the seventh judicial district, was holding court
in the town, and upon being informed of the presence of the
band, he and Colonel Flournoy went out to meet them.
Judge Pollard held a parley with them, and demanded their
surrender. He had no sooner repeated the demand than one
of the Klan fired, presumably at the judge. The firing then
became general on both sides, with the result that a young
man was killed. The young man testified in his dying
moments that there were about thirty men in the crowd, and
that their purpose was to get hold of Colonel Flournoy.2
One of the subjects of investigation by the Kuklux com-
mittee was the riot at Meridian on March 6, 1871. The
affair grew out of the relations between the whites and
blacks of the town, the immediate cause being the act of
a Northern school-teacher with several negroes in assaulting
a deputy sheriff who had come over from Alabama to make
some arrests. The white man was arrested and bound over
for his appearance at court, but upon the advice of his white
friends he forfeited his recognizance and left for parts un-
known. The officers of the town were all Northern white
men or freedmen, and were all appointees of General Ames
as military governor. They complained of the manifestation
of public sentiment which made it advisable for one of their
leaders to leave, and sent a committee of colored men to
Jackson to represent to the governor the "true condition
of affairs " in the town.
On the 3d of March the colored committee returned from
Jackson, accompanied by Mr. Moore, a colored minister and
the representative of the county in the legislature. They
called a mass meeting of Republicans for the following day
at the courthouse, in order to make a report of their mission
to Jackson. The meeting was largely attended by colored
people, and addresses were made by Warren Tyler, a colored
school-teacher, William Dennis, a notorious negro, and the
Rev. Mr. Moore. The whites charged that the speakers
advised the colored people to " take things into their own
1 See his own testimony on this point, Kuklux Report, p. 95.
2 Flournoy's testimony is in Vol. I. of the Kuklux Testimony, pp. 82-95 ;
Judge Pollard's testimony is in Vol. II. of the Kuklux Testimony, pp. 1100-
1110.
350 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
hands.'* About an hour after the adjournment of the meet-
ing, the store of the mayor was discovered to be on fire. The
fire spread until a number of buildings had been consumed,
the negroes refusing to help extinguish it, on the ground that
it was a " white man's fire." During the following day great
excitement prevailed in the town, and groups of excited men
could be seen here and there holding street corner meetings
and discussing the situation. A mass meeting was held
Monday morning, at which resolutions were adopted con-
demning the speeches of the colored men. A committee was
appointed to wait on the governor and request him to remove
the mayor.
Shortly after the adjournment of the mass meeting, the
trial of the three negro orators for " creating disorder "
began before a Republican magistrate. The trial had pro-
ceeded for some moments when a tremendous firing began in
the courtroom. The magistrate fell at the first shot. Twenty
or thirty shots rang out almost simultaneously. When the
smoke cleared away several dead bodies were found. Den-
nis, badly wounded, was carried to the sheriff's office and left
on the floor. During the night he was killed. Tyler was
found concealed in a barber shop and was quickly despatched.
During the firing Moore feigned death by falling to the floor.
He afterward escaped and made his way to Jackson, pursued
by a body of armed citizens. He never returned to Meridian.
After the expiration of his term as a member of the legis-
lature he became a night watchman at the capitol. He is at
present a blacksmith in Jackson.
In the meantime three other negroes had been arrested,
carried to the courthouse, and put in charge of a deputy
sheriff for safe keeping. During the night, they were taken
out and killed. The riot ended by the burning of Moore's
dwelling house and the colored Baptist church near his resi-
dence. In the meantime the mayor was informed that it was
the desire of the white citizens that he should leave the town.
He was accordingly escorted to the train by three or four
hundred men, and left for the North.1 The affair caused
considerable excitement throughout the state, and the legis-
lature called on the President for troops. Governor Alcorn
1 My chief source of information for the facts relating to the Meridian
troubles is the report of a special committee of investigation appointed by the
legislature, and the report of the congressional committee on affairs in the
insurrectionary states. Both committees took a large amount of testimony.
The report of the state committee is printed as a part of the testimony of the
congressional committee. See Vol. I. Affairs in the Insurrectionary States.
THE KUKLUX DISTURBANCES IN MISSISSIPPI 351
telegraphed to Washington, March 17, that the " riot had been
suppressed," that the affair was undergoing investigation, and
that there was no need for troops. Except some " minor out-
rages " in east Mississippi, he said the state presented an
unbroken evidence of civil obedience and order.1
In this, as in most of the so-called riots which occurred in
the state during this period, each race accused the other of
responsibility for the affair. It happened in this, as in the
others, that political conditions were the remote cause, and
when once the explosion came, the negroes suffered most.
In the meantime an effort was being made to enforce the
act of Congress for the prevention of Kuklux outrages. Mr.
Wells, the United States attorney for the northern district of
Mississippi, told the congressional committee in November
that he had under indictment between two and three hundred
persons charged with violation of the Federal enforcement law.
He stated that he commenced the prosecutions in the United
States court about the 15th of May, 1871 — less than a month
after the passage of the act , and that he had been engaged
constantly in travelling or otherwise prosecuting his duties.2
On Tuesday, the 28th of June, 1871, the first important
trial in the United States under the Kuklux Act began at
Oxford before Hon. R. A. Hill, United States district judge.3
The case was entitled Ex parte Walton et a£., and was a pro-
ceeding by writ of habeas corpus upon application of twenty-
eight persons charged with the killing of a negro in Monroe
County on the night of March 29. Forty odd witnesses
were examined, their testimony covering sixty-one pages of
the printed record. Able counsel were employed on both
sides, and rarely has a criminal trial in Mississippi been con-
ducted with more ability.* The trial lasted eight days, and
was attended with great interest and excitement. A com-
1 Jackson Clarion, March 28, 1871.
a Testimony, p. 1148.
8 My chief authority for the account of the trial is a pamphlet entitled :
A Full Report of the Great Kuklux Trial in the United States District
Court at Oxford, published privately. It contains the argument of the
counsel, copies of the indictment and other processes, the testimony of all
the witnesses, and the decision of the court, making a volume of one hundred
pages. The pamphlet, except the argument of the counsel, was incorporated
in the report of the Kuklux committee, and embraces sixty-one closely
printed pages. See pp. 936-997.
* The counsel for the United States were G. Wiley Wells, United States
Attorney for the northern district ; E. P. Jacobson, United States Attorney for
the southern district ; H. C. Blackman, H. W. Walter, Van H. Manning, and
G. P. M. Turner. For the petitioners were W. F. Dowd, S. J. Gholson,
Reuben O. Reynolds, Robert E. Houston, J. D. McCluskey, and E. O.
Sykes.
352 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
pany of United States infantry and one of cavalry were on
hand to maintain order.
The petitioners denied the allegation in the bill of indict-
ment, and declared that the witnesses who swore to the facts
therein, perjured themselves; and that the district court of
the United States had no jurisdiction, since the deceased and
his alleged murderers were all citizens of the state of Mis-
sissippi, whose courts alone could try offences between its
citizens. The question thus involved the constitutionality
of the Enforcement Act. The court decided that the act was
a constitutional measure ; that Congress had the power, by
virtue of the Fourteenth Amendment, to enact legislation for
the protection of colored citizens and those who had supported
the cause of the Union, even to the extent of depriving the
state courts of jurisdiction over crimes committed against
such persons ; that, consequently, the court had jurisdiction
of the cases in question. The judge refused to discharge
the petitioners from prosecution, but released sixteen of them
upon their own recognizance in the sum of §500 each, condi-
tioned upon their appearance at the next term of court.
Eight others were released upon a recognizance of $5000.
There was a general rejoicing among the whites at the release
of the prisoners, for the belief seems to have been widespread
among them that the prisoners had been wrongfully arrested
and kept away from their families and crops.1 Upon their
arrival at Aberdeen, they were met by a large crowd of citizens,
who offered their congratulations. There was cheering and
firing of cannon, and other demonstrations of rejoicing.2
The first trial in the southern district began at Jackson, in
February, 1872. It was the case of L. D. Belk, and grew out
of the Meridian riot.
On April 10, 1872, district attorney Wells reported to the
Attorney General of the United States the names of 490 per-
sons who had been indicted in the northern district of Missis-
sippi in pursuance of the Kuklux law; 172 who had been
arrested and bound over ; 28 who had pleaded guilty ; and
14 who had confessed and turned state's evidence.3 It ap-
pears from his report that the twenty-eight persons charged
with the murder of the negro in Monroe County, and who
were released upon writ of habeas corpus by Judge Hill,
1 See on this point the testimony of General Gholson, pp. 878-879, and of
Colonel Reynolds, p. 910.
2 For account of this demonstration, see testimony of A. P. Huggins,
p. 820 ; of S. J. Gholson, p. 878, and of R. O. Reynolds, p. 910.
8 Ex. Docs. 2d Sess. 42d Cong. No. 268, pp. 30-44.
THE KUKLUX DISTURBANCES IN MISSISSIPPI 353
in June, 1871, pleaded guilty at the December term of the
court, and it also appears that the sentence was not car-
ried into execution. The district attorney reported that no
parties had been convicted except those who pleaded guilty,
as the time of the court, up to the date of his reappointment,
had been occupied in hearing petitions for writs of habeas
corpus and motions to quash indictments, generally upon the
ground of the unconstitutionality of the Kuklux law. In a
subsequent report he gave the names of 678 persons who
were indicted in the northern district. Three hundred and
twenty-five of these cases were disposed of during the year
1872, there being 262 convictions.1 During the year ending
June 20, 1873, 268 cases were disposed of, 184 of which
were convictions. On July 1, 1874, 171 cases were pending.
Mr. Jacobson, the United States attorney for the southern
district, reported February 17, 1872, the names of 152 persons
who had been indicted for violation of the Kuklux Act, the
majority of the cases being " conspiracies to injure citizens
because of the exercise of the right of free speech." He gave
the names of twelve persons who had confessed their guilt.
It appears that there had been no convictions, up to the time
of his report.2
It remains to be said in conclusion that much of the re-
sponsibility for these so-called Kuklux disorders must rest
ultimately upon the authors of the congressional policy of
reconstruction. The policy by which political power in the
South was suddenly transferred from the hitherto dominant
class to a race emerging from slavery was one of the most
dangerous experiments ever undertaken by the law-makers of
any country. That such a policy could have been carried
through, unattended by social and political disorders, espe-
cially in view of all the attendant circumstances, no intelligent
man will for a moment expect. History abounds with illus-
trations of the truth that the secret conclave, the league, and
the conspiracy are the sequences of political proscription and
disfranchisement. The Illumines in France, the Tugendbund
in Germany, the Carbonari in Italy, and Nihilism in Russia,
are notable examples. In the Southern states, opposition to
the congressional policy of reconstruction did not take the
form of armed and organized resistance, but of secret retalia-
tion upon its agents, and especially favored beneficiaries,
regardless of race, color, or nativity.
1 Ex. Docs. 42d Cong. 3d Ses. No. 32, p. 11.
2 Ex. Docs. 42d Cong. 2d Ses. No. 268, pp. 30-44.
2A
CHAPTER TENTH
EDUCATIONAL RECONSTRUCTION
ONE of the schemes of the reconstructionists in Mississippi
was the establishment of an elaborate system of public schools
for the benefit of both races. Prior to the war, almost the
only free schools in the state were those maintained out of
the proceeds arising from the sale or lease of the so-called
sixteenth section lands, granted to the state by Congress in
the early part of the century. But as most of these lands
had been lost by mismanagement, the number of such schools
was not very large.1 They were open, of course, only to
white children.
The traditional preference for the private school, due
largely to historical conditions in the South, had militated
against the establishment of a uniform system of public edu-
cation. However, a tendency in this direction had been in
process of development at the outbreak of hostilities.
With the occupation of the state by the Federal armies,
the work of teaching the negroes began. The first schools
established for this purpose were at Corinth shortly after
the occupation of that town by the Union troops in 1862.
The American Missionary Association, the Freedmen's Aid
Society, and the Society of Friends had established schools
about Vicksburg before the close of the war. Upon the
organization of the Freedmen's Bureau, a more systematic
and comprehensive plan of negro education was undertaken.
Joseph Warren, chaplain of a negro regiment, was appointed
superintendent of freedmen's schools for the state at large.
These schools were under military supervision, and benevo-
lent associations supplied them with books and, in many
cases, furnished clothing to the students. The following
exhibit from the report of Superintendent Warren shows
the number of schools and the enrollment on March 31,
1865 : —
1 Joseph Bardwell, state superintendent of education in 1876, says there
were 1116 public schools in Mississippi in 1860, attended by 30,970 pupils.
See his report for 1876.
354
EDUCATIONAL RECONSTRUCTION
355
SCHOOLS.
TEACHERS.
ENROLLMENT.
11
22
1854
Camps near Vicksburg . . .
Davis Bend Colony ....
Natchez
4
4
11
9
9
20
720
739
1080
The teachers were, for the most part, supported by the
Northwest Freedmeu's Commission, the Friend's Society,
the United Brethren, the American Baptist Home Mission-
ary Society, the National Freedmen's Relief Association, the
American Missionary Association, and the Reformed Pres-
byterian Board.
The bureau officials reported, in 1867, that Vicksburg had
a negro normal school attended by 450 pupils, while the
common schools of the city had an enrollment of 1700. In
1869, they reported that 81 negro schools, attended by 4344
pupils, were in operation in the state with 105 teachers, 40
of whom were colored.
The reconstruction convention, many of whose members
were freedmen or Northern white men, was thoroughly im-
bued with the idea of education for the negro race. The
constitution which they adopted made it the duty of the
legislature to encourage by all suitable means the promotion
of intellectual, scientific, moral, and agricultural improve-
ment by establishing a uniform system of public schools for
all children between the ages of five and twenty-one years.
Constitutional provision was made for a permanent school
fund, and the legislature was empowered to levy a poll tax
not exceeding $2 per capita.1
Governor Alcorn in his inaugural announced emphatically
that the government during his term would devote a large
part of its energies and resources to the establishment of a
system of common schools for the " poor white and colored
children of the state who had been permitted in the past to
grow up like wild flowers."2 Some weeks later, he sent in
a special message reminding the legislature of the constitu-
tional obligation resting upon them in this matter, and urged
immediate action upon the subject.3 On the Fourth of July,
the legislature passed an elaborate act " to regulate the sup-
1 Constitution of 18fi8, Art. VIII. Sees. 6, 6, 7, 8.
2 Senate Journal, 1870, p. 51.
8 Appendix to Senate Journal, 1870, pp. 12-20.
356 BECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
port, organization, and maintenance of a uniform system of
public education for the state." The act guaranteed to each
child the advantages of a public school for at least four
months of each year. A state board of education was cre-
ated and vested with the power of general supervision of
all public school interests. A state superintendent elected
by the people was to be ex officio president of the board, and
was charged with prescribing rules and regulations for the
management of public schools. His salary was fixed by stat-
ute at $3000 per year, and he was allowed 81200 for clerk hire.
County superintendents were to be appointed by the state
board, and were charged with examining applicants, granting
certificates, and performing such other duties as the state
superintendent might designate. There was to be a board
of six directors in each school district of the county. They
were charged with establishing schools, hiring teachers,
selecting text-books, and estimating the cost of constructing
or renting buildings. Their compensation was fixed at $3
per day and mileage. Each board was also to have a secre-
tary at a salary of $3 per day. Boards of supervisors were
authorized to levy a tax sufficient to defray the expenses as
estimated by the directors, except that they were limited to
a tax rate of fifteen mills on the dollar. It was made the
duty of the directors to establish a school wherever the
parents or guardians of twenty-five children of school age
should make written application for it.1 Serious objections
were at once urged against the law by Democrats and Repub-
licans as well. In the first place, it provided for a system
of education entirely too expensive, in view of the impover-
ished condition of the people. The desolation of a long war,
a succession of crop failures, a Federal tax on cotton equiva-
lent to one-fourth of its value, the loss of the slaves, and the
increased taxes necessary for rebuilding and repairing pub-
lic institutions, bore heavily upon a people who had never
been accustomed to heavy taxes, even in the days of their
prosperity. Moreover, the additional expense of educating
their former slaves was naturally not very popular. It does
not appear, however, that there was any opposition by the
more intelligent whites to an economical scheme of negro
education, for they clearly foresaw that the higher interests
of society required that f reeduien, who were now their politi-
cal and civil equals, should receive at least the rudiments of
1 Laws of 1870, pp. 1-20. All the members of the House Committee on
Education were Northern men except two who were native freedmen.
EDUCATIONAL RECONSTRUCTION 357
an education. The chief source of objection was the need-
lessly expensive machinery provided for the administration
of the system.1 The provision for boards of salaried school
directors and secretaries was entirely unnecessary.2 The
county superintendents could easily have performed the
duties assigned to these boards. The authors of the sys-
tem soon discovered and admitted this fact.
Another objection to the law was the requirement that
county superintendents, who were to be paid from the local
treasuries, should be appointed by the state board of educa-
tion, thus depriving the people of the several counties of
the privilege of choosing competent residents to manage
their educational affairs, and compelling them in some in-
stances to accept non-residents — "carpet baggers" selected
by the central authorities at Jackson.
Moreover, the tax payers were not only denied the right
of electing the county superintendents, but they were not
permitted to choose the still more important officials, the
directors who estimated the school taxes. These officials
were appointed by the boards of supervisors, who were them-
selves appointees of General Ames as military governor, for
it must be remembered that there was not until November,
1871, a general election for county and local officers. Thus
it happened that the entire management of the schools, from
the assessment of the taxes to the employment of the teach-
ers, was in the control of the non-tax-paying class. These
officials, some of whom were familiar with the excellent sys-
tems of public education in the old states from which they
came, sought to create a similar system in the South, without,
1 Ex-Senator A. G. Brown, in an address to an audience of colored people
in Copiah County, declared emphatically in favor of educating the freedmen.
The Columbus Index of Dec. 19, 1866, contains a long letter from the Bishop
of Mississippi urging planters to establish schools for the instruction of col-
ored children on their farms. A state teachers' convention held at Jackson,
July 31, 18C7, advised the establishment of a system of public schools for
the freedmen. It is probable that this would have been done by the native
whites had not the "carpet baggers " forestalled their action. The Jackson
Clarion of Feb. 11, 1866, urged that provision be made for the education of
the negro. It said : " The negro educated by the Yankee will be mere dan-
gerous than the Yankee himself. The negro educated by ourselves will double
our strength. Let us encourage Southern men to educate the negro." The
Hinds County Gazette of July 13, 1866, stated that "organized plans for the
intellectual improvement of the negro are being generally adopted throughout
the state." It announced that a school for the benefit of colored children
was in operation at Holly Springs, and was under the superintendence of
Judge Watson, and that Hon. Kinloch Falkner, formerly secretary of state,
was one of the teachers. There was also a school at Oxford, conducted by
Chancellor Waddell and several professors of the state university.
2 The amount expended as compensation for directors in 1874 was $70,000.
358 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
apparently, taking into consideration the general impoverish-
ment of the people and the traditional opposition to schools
maintained by the state. Contributing little themselves to
the public burdens, they were often unable to appreciate the
real situation of those who did. They proceeded on a scale
which would not have been considered burdensome in one
of the Northern states, but it was unduly expensive for a
Southern state in 1870. * It was alleged that the ordinary
log schoolhouses used before the war were not good enough
for the reconstructionists, but that they had to have substan-
tial frame buildings, costing from $500 to $1000 each, and
supplied with furniture purchased by special agents in North-
ern cities. Wherever twenty-five pickaninnies could be
assembled, a schoolhouse had to be built and a high-salaried
teacher employed. The Southern whites refused to teach
negro children. Negro teachers were not to be had.2 North-
ern men and women were willing to teach ffeedmen's schools,
but a four months' term at ordinary wages did not afford
a sufficient inducement to attract them to the South. It was
necessary, therefore, to pay salaries out of all due proportion
to the value of the service performed and the ability of the
people to pay, or else have the schools go without teachers.
During 1870 and 1871, teachers' salaries in Mississippi
ranged from $40 to $150 per month, according to the grade
of certificate, the average for the former year being $60.3
Examinations for teachers' licenses were not such as to
ascertain the real fitness of applicants or conduce to a
1 State Superintendent Pease said of the law : " It would operate success-
fully in Ohio or Massachusetts, but not in Mississippi. The experience
of the last twelve months shows that notwithstanding we have succeeded
in establishing a large number of schools, the work has been accomplished
at the expense of an enormous and unnecessary outlay of labor and money."
Report for 1871, p. 16.
2 In Leflore County, in 1874, there were twenty-four schools and only nine
teachers available. This was the case in most of the river counties. Report
of state superintendent for 1875.
8 The following exhibit, compiled from the annual reports of the state
superintendents, shows the average monthly salary of public school teachers
in Mississippi from 1870 to 1877 : —
1870 $60.
1871 58.90
1872 61.32
1873 50.
1874 65.47
1875 55.47
1876 39.87
1877 29.19|
The highest average in any one county was $75.26 in Chickasaw in 1873.
EDUCATIONAL RECONSTRUCTION 359
high standard of scholarship. They were asked a few oral
questions by the superintendent in his private office, and
the certificate was granted as a matter of course. The teach-
ers from the North, it was alleged, became political emissa-
ries among the negroes, organized them into " loyal leagues,"
and impressed upon them the duty of voting the Republican
ticket. This was particularly true of negro teachers who
went from Oberlin and other abolitionist centres.
Teachers of negro schools could not secure board in the
homes of respectable white citizens, and consequently had to
lodge with their colored patrons. Living upon terms of
social equality with the negro was a grave offence in the
mind of the Southern white, and was sure to cost the offender
whatever respect the community might otherwise have en-
tertained for him. It was too often taken as prima facie
evidence of loose moral character, whereas, there can be little
doubt that the great majority of the Northern white men
and women who taught negro schools in the South were per-
sons of high moral and intellectual character. However this
may be, as time wore on, this prejudice disappeared to some
extent, and a feeling of genuine admiration was cherished
for the Northern teacher. It came to be a common remark
that the " Yankee schoolmarm " with her twang, abominable
pronunciation, and other faults, was par excellence the suc-
cessful teacher and disciplinarian.
In October, 1870, the new system of free schools went
into operation. In several counties where the blacks largely
outnumbered the whites, the attempt to collect a heavy school
tax met with more or less opposition. In Monroe County,
where the black population exceeded the white population
in the proportion of three to one, there was great dissatisfac-
tion at the manner in which the authorities were alleged to
have appropriated money for the maintenance of the schools.
The county superintendent of education was Colonel Hug-
gins, a Union soldier, and a former agent of the Freedmen's
Bureau, who held at the same time the office of United States
assessor of Internal Revenue. It was alleged that his esti-
mates for the support of the public schools were unneces-
sarily large, and that he refused to make use of schoolhouses
offered him without charge, but instead, erected new frame
buildings throughout the county, and paid teachers unrea-
sonably large salaries.1 The superintendent charged that the
1 The salaries of teachers in Monroe County ranged from $50 to $150 per
month, according to the grade of certificate, the average being $70 in 1873.
360 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
Kuklux attempted to break up the schools, and that they
notified two of the school directors, who had been particu-
larly prominent in fixing the estimates, to resign their posi-
tions within a certain time or they would be " dealt with "
according to the well-known customs of the Klan. The
directors promptly complied with the request.1 Nearly all
of the teachers in that part of the county east of the Tom-
bigbee River, twenty-six in number, were notified to close
their schools. One of these was a lady from Geneseo, Illi-
nois. She had been sent to Mississippi by the American
Missionary Society, and was engaged in teaching a small
school at Cotton Gin Port at a salary of $75 per month.
She had endeavored to secure board with a white family,
but being unsuccessful, had taken up her abode with a family
of negroes. She was visited by the Kuklux in March, 1871,
and was ordered to leave. She promptly obeyed the order.2
Dr. Ebart, one of the school directors, a Southern man and
the teacher of a white school in Aberdeen, received a similar
notification. On account of opposition to the extravagances
of the school authorities, the board of supervisors declined
to levy the special tax of 10| mills.3
In Lowndes County, there was also more or less opposition
to the course of the school authorities.4 Lowndes, like Mon-
roe, had a large negro population, there being four times as
many colored children of school age as white children. Sixty
public schools were opened and teachers employed at salaries
ranging from $50 to §150 per month, the average being 878.
A number of school buildings were erected, and the superin-
tendent was authorized to proceed to St. Louis and purchase
furniture and apparatus, his expenses being paid out of the
county funds. The board of supervisors levied a special
tax of $95,000 in addition to the poll tax. The whites
protested, called a meeting at Columbus, and appointed a
committee to urge a reduction of the levy, and another to
In addition to the poll tax, the school directors in that county levied a prop-
erty tax of 10£ mills on the dollar. The law allowed 15 mills. Colonel Hug-
gins testified before the Kuklux committee at Washington that the whole
amount expended for school furniture in Monroe County was $2100, and that
the purchases were made in St. Louis. The average cost of the buildings
erected was about $400 each. One was built in Aberdeen, at a cost of $6120.
Seventy -five schools were established and twenty-four buildings erected at an
aggregate cost of $10,000.
1 Testimony of A. P. Huggins, Kuklux Report, p. 281.
2 Kuklux Report, p. 777.
8 Testimony of F. H. Little, Kuklux Report, p. 367.
4 The superintendent was Dr. J. N. Bishop, a Northern man, at present a
physician of note in New York City.
EDUCATIONAL RECONSTRUCTION 361
investigate and report upon the financial condition of the
county.1 The opposition became so strong that the board
decided to reduce the assessment one-half. Several teachers
were whipped, and a number of schools broken up by the
Kuklux. One of the teachers who was thus dealt with was
a Northern man, who boarded in a negro family and taught
a negro school about seven miles from Columbus. He was
visited by a band of disguised men, and told that he had no
business teaching " nigger " schools, and that the whole sys-
tem was a humbug and an imposition on the people.2
The Rev. Mr. Galloway, a Congregational minister from
the North, and teacher of a negro free school at Caladonia,
received a call of a similar character.3 Two other teachers
who received orders to close their schools were old citizens
of the county, and one of them was a one-armed Confederate
soldier.4 It will thus be seen that the victims of these pro-
ceedings were limited to no particular class of teachers, but
included Southern as well as Northern teachers and ex-Con-
federate as well as ex-Union soldiers. They all appear to
have been honorable and well qualified. It is reasonable to
conclude, therefore, that the opposition was not in any sense
political, nor does it seem to have been directed against the
public school system per se, but rather against its abuses.
In Noxubee County, the only interference with the public
school system was the burning of three or four schoolhouses.6
The county superintendent was notified by the " Grand Cy-
clops " to resign his position.6
In the adjoining county of Winston, the opposition was
more marked, and likewise took the form of schoolhouse
burning. Governor R. C. Powers told the congressional com-
mittee in March, 1871, that no one had been permitted to
teach a negro school or a white public school in the county for
seven or eight months, and that every house in the county
where a school was being taught, except one, had been
burned.7 On the 6th of April, a mass meeting of citizens
was held at the county seat, and resolutions were adopted
1 The report of the committee is printed in full in the Columbus Index of
June 1, 1871.
2 Testimony of Lewis Perkins, Kuklux Report, p. 899 ; also Testimony of
H. B. Whitfield, p. 420.
8 Testimony of J. F. Galloway, ibid. p. 663.
* Testimony of H. B. Whitfield, ibid. p. 420.
6 Testimony of A. K. Davis, ibid. p. 477.
6 Testimony of J. B. Allgood, ibid. p. 499.
7 Testimony of R. C. Powers, ibid. p. 688.
362 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
condemning these acts, after which it appears that no more
houses were burned.
The most notable case of interference with the schools in
Chickasaw County was the whipping of Cornelius McBride,
a young Irishman from Cincinnati, who had previously
taught a negro school in Oktibbeha County. With the
consent of the whites he opened a school in Chickasaw
County, and was kindly treated by his neighbors. On
account of his popularity and intelligence he was asked by
the whites to take charge of their Sunday school. For
a while, after the beginning of the Kuklux raids, he was not
molested, but in the latter part of March, 1871, they went
to his house, took him out, and severely whipped him. Refus-
ing to be deterred by the threats of the Kuklux, he returned
to his school the following morning, and taught it out with-
out further molestation. According to McBride's testimony,
two hundred free schools had been opened in the county, all
being supplied with teachers at salaries ranging from $40
to $100 per month.1
Mr. Schneider, the teacher of a negro school in Warren
County, received the following notice from the Kuklux : —
HEADQUARTERS K.K.K. March 3, 1871.
MB. S : — As it is customary for our order never to attack any
one without just telling him the cause and giving him fair warning,
we wish to say, that having had your case before the order at its
last meeting, you were found guilty of certain misdemeanors by a
unanimous vote.
Charge 1. Associating with negroes in preference to the white
race as God ordained. Guilty.
Charge 2. For being instrumental in the removal of one of our
fellow citizens from the office of justice of the peace in the county
and beat where you reside and placing a carpet bagger, negro, and
scallawag in his stead. Guilty.
There was one other charge, but there being a few dissenting
votes on this — not guilty.
It is an established rule of the order never to give a man more
than three days to leave the county, but taking it into careful con-
sideration your situation and the size of your carpet bag, we
have concluded to extend the time to five days ; at the expiration
of said time, we will wait upon you if you are in the county.
Hoping that you will view the subject in a sensible light and
1 See Kuklux Report, pp. 325-342. He was doubtless in error as to the
number of schools in the county. None of the counties, except Hinds and
Warren, had as many as one hundred and fifty public schools at that time.
EDUCATIONAL RECONSTRUCTION 363
leave, as we always dislike to use harsh means, our object being
to purify our state, and we commence our work on scallawags
and carpet baggers first.
Yours, etc.
A wronged and outraged Mississippian
and chief of the Kuklux Klan. l
In Pontotoc County, a number of the teachers were noti-
fied by the Kuklux that unless they closed their schools, they
would be " dealt with." In every instance they were teach-
ers of negro schools, and oddly enough all except one were
Democrats. Sixty-four free schools had been established, and
all of the teachers except eleven were Democrats. An attempt
to "Kuklux" Mr. Flournoy, the superintendent, resulted
disastrously for one of the members of the band. He proved
to be a young man of respectability in the neighborhood.2
At first the belief was general that it was the purpose of
the reconstructionists to force mixed schools upon the whites,
and, to be sure, there was no express provision in the constitu-
tion for separate schools, a proposition to incorporate such a
provision having been voted down, every colored member
opposing the motion. On this subject, the Jackson Clarion3
said : " No intelligent and true friend of the negro, much less
of the white race, can look upon the measure (the provision
in the constitution of 1868 relative to public schools) with
any other feeling than that of disgust and loathing. Its
authors have sown the seeds of discord between the two
races. They cannot and will not intermingle on terms of
social equality as contemplated by this odious scheme." Again
the Clarion declared that it would require a standing army
to enforce such a provision.4 When it became evident, how-
ever, that there was no intention of establishing mixed schools,
much of the opposition wore away, so that Superintendent
Pease was able to report in 1871 that " a most marvellous
revolution of sentiment " in regard to negro education had
already taken place. As the sentiment in favor of negro
schools increased, State Superintendent Gathright, a native
Southerner, advised the white teachers in a public address in
1876, to lay aside their prejudices and teach negro schools.
He argued that such a policy would keep in the state the
large sums that went to pay Northern- teachers. It would also
1 Report state superintendent of education, 1871, p. 69.
2 Testimony of R. W. Flournoy, Kuklux Report, op. 82-96.
8 Issue of Feb. 21, 1868.
4 Issue of March 11, 1868.
364 BECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
remove what was regarded as an objectionable element,
namely, the class of teachers that organized and controlled
the negroes politically. The address was widely commented
on at. the time. The Vicksburg Herald, under the caption
" Wheat vs. Chaff," said: " The recent pronunciamento of Pro-
fessor Gathright, the head centre of the educational interests
of the state, contains some sound wheat and more or less
chaff. His advice to the teachers of the state now working
under him was good to a certain extent ; but when he endeav-
ors to persuade the daughters of our state to enter the field
as teachers of negro schools, it would be strange if the propo-
sition created much enthusiasm. A lady who is capable of
teaching at all must be sore in need if she has to resort to a
colored school to eke out a precarious existence, and we hope
the time will never come when any true daughter of the South
will ever be put to that necessity. . . . Professor Gathright
no doubt means well, but that does not help his proposition."1
H The results of the first year of free education in Mississippi
were encouraging to the reconstructionists, notwithstand-
ing the undoubted difficulties which they had to confront.
State Superintendent Pease reported that more than 3000
free schools had been opened, with an attendance of 66,257
pupils. Of the 3600 teachers employed, all except 399
were white. Five hundred school sites had been donated
and 200 buildings erected by private subscription. The
total expenditures, on account of public education for the
year, were $869,766.76, an amount which exceeded the gov-
ernment expenditures for all other purposes.2 This burden
1 Issue of May 12, 1876. The Hinds County Gazette, as early as July 13,
1866, lamented that "Cape Cod schoolmarms " were swarming into Missis-
sippi, and to counteract the evil of which, the white citizens in every neigh-
borhood where there was a colored school, were advised to select some " well-
known, competent, and unobjectionable " woman to teach the school, as a "full
and free indorsement of the community ' ' would prevent ostracism of her. The
editor noticed a great desire among the negroes for " Yankee " teachers.
2 The Jackson Clarion did not think the educational outlook afforded
much cause for congratulation. It said: "The present sj^stem of common
schools is a humbug. One million dollars was spent last year, with very little
advancement in learning. The modus operandi is a very few hours of in-
struction each day — school closed eight months in the year : a greedy swarm
of useless drones in the shape of school officers doing nothing and living high
on extravagant salaries, squandering the vast school funds in thieving combi-
nations and contracts for fine furniture and useless books, and for building
fine schoolhouses. The whole thing is an abortion, a swindle, a carpet-bag
fraud, on the people." The same paper announced that the Democratic party
proposed to reform all abuses, maintain good schools for ten months in the
year, cut off all lazy and useless officers, get good teachers, reduce the num-
ber, and pay them well, build plain, cheap houses, and give all the children,
black and white, a good education for half the money that was being spent.
EDUCATIONAL RECONSTRUCTION 365
might have been much lighter, had it not been for the mis-
management of the school funds prior to the war.1 More
than a million dollars of sixteenth section funds, to say noth-
ing of the Seminary and Chickasaw funds, were lost through
poor management. Few things in the history of the state
afford more cause for regret than the manner in which
these munificent endowments were administered. Had they
been judiciously managed, they would have yielded revenue
enough in 1870 to defray the entire cost of the public school
system.
Governor Alcorn, in his annual message to the legislature
in 1871, recommended that county superintendents be made
elective by the local magistrates of the school districts, as,
under the appointive system, men "absolutely unacquainted
with the people of the counties to which they were sent "
had been selected in many instances. In a special message
of April 1, he charged that the school directors " presented
an administration which threatened, by the wantonness of its
extravagance, to impress the more restive of the population
with a sense that they are being oppressed by taxation."
" While the average pay of the teachers in the Northern
schools," he said, a is less than 8300 a year, salaries in Mis-
sissippi range from $720 to $ 1920 a year." Relative to the
extravagances of the school authorities in certain counties,
he said : " With the purchase or erection of brick school-
houses in some districts, and the furnishing of schoolhouses
in others with elegant desks and office chairs, and the supply-
ing in others of apparatus better suited to the demands of
the academy than of the common school, we may accept the
conclusions that there is some foundation for the general
outcry against the alleged plunder of the school funds. In a
few short months of actual work in the county of Lafayette,
the school board is charged, on very grave authority, with
having expended 13500 in cash and $4000 in credit, with
little or nothing to show for the money. In the interests,
not only of the school funds, but of the peace and order of
the state, I recommend to you earnestly to set some limit on
the option of school boards as to their outlays."2
By an act of April 17, 1873, the public school system was
reorganized and simplified. The boards of schopl directors
were abolished, and trustees were made elective by the
patrons. A general property tax of four mills on the dollar
1 Nineteen of the sixty -four county superintendents in 1870 reported a
loss of $418,765 of the sixteenth section school funds.
2 Appendix to H. and S. Journal, 1871, p. 1198.
366 BECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
was levied for school purposes, and teachers' salaries were
fixed at from $35 to $75 per month. It was still thought,
however, that the popular election of county superintendents
would be " a disastrous blow " to public education in the state.1
After the restoration of the democracy in 1876, the system
was still further changed, and expenditures largely reduced.2
The first reconstruction state superintendent of education
was Henry R. Pease, a Northern man, an ex-Union soldier,
and an agent of the Freedmen's Bureau. In 1865, he became
superintendent of education in Louisiana by military order.
Later, he became superintendent of the educational depart-
ment of the Freedmen's Bureau in Mississippi, and upon the
readmission of the state to the Union, was elected superin-
tendent under the new constitution. It devolved upon him
to organize the system of free schools. His competency was
never questioned, but the demand of the colored race for office,
in 1873, caused him to be set aside for a negro named Cordoza.
Cordoza, at the time of his election, was under indictment
for malfeasance as circuit clerk of Warren County. Upon
his impeachment and removal from office in 1876 for misap-
propriation of school funds, Mr. Gathright, a Southern man,
became superintendent.
It remains to notice briefly the condition of higher educa-
tion in Mississippi, so far as it was directly or remotely
affected by the Civil War and Reconstruction. Soon after
the adoption of the ordinance of secession, most of the stu-
dents of the university organized themselves into a military
company and applied to the governor to muster them into
the service. In spite of the appeal of President F. A. P.
Barnard and Professor Lamar, the governor sent up a mus-
tering officer, and the boys were enlisted. The president
then addressed a circular letter to the parents of the young
men, asking for authority to demand their discharge. Most
of the replies assured the president that the enlistments were
approved by the parents and guardians concerned. The
company was shortly afterwards ordered to Richmond, and
took part in the first great battle of the war. Soon after the
outbreak of hostilities the university closed its doors, the
members of the Faculty resigned, and most of them entered
1 Report of state superintendent, 1874, p. 6.
2 Thus the expenditures on account of the state superintendent's office in
1874 were $17,816 ; in 1877 they were $3768. The cost of clerk hire was
reduced from $2000 to nothing; the cost of printing was reduced from
$13,000 in 1874 to $1000 in 1876. The aggregate salaries of county superin-
tendents were reduced from $48,350 in 1875 to $9760 in 1876.
EDUCATIONAL RECONSTRUCTION 367
the service of the Confederacy. President Barnard, although
a slaveholder, and although his sympathies were in some
degree with the people of the South, among whom he had
lived for twenty years, was a Union man, and declined to join
the secession movement. He went North, and in 1864 be-
came president of Columbia University, where he had a long
and brilliant career.1
During the war, the buildings and university grounds were
occupied first by the Confederate and then by the Union
troops. No permanent injury seems to have been done the
institution by either army, so that the work of reorganization
was comparatively easy.2 Governor Sharkey, in the procla-
mation announcing his appointment as provisional governor,
directed the trustees to meet at Oxford, July 31, for the pur-
pose of reopening the university. The meeting was duly
held, a Faculty appointed, and in September, the univer-
sity opened its doors. The work of the university was not
materially affected by the reconstruction policy. The dis-
trict commanders did not interfere with its administration,
but regularly issued the warrants for its support, and showed
no disposition to impair its usefulness.3 The trustees ap-
1 Professor Barnard was one of the many Northern men who were living
in the South at the beginning of the war. He became president of the Uni-
versity of Mississippi in 1856, and his administration was in the highest de-
gree satisfactory to the board of trustees. An incident of his administration
was the investigation of a charge that he was " unsound" on the slavery
question and guilty of advocating the acceptance of negro testimony in a
case of discipline in which one of the students was accused of assaulting a
negro servant. Barnard, with two other Northern-born members of the
Faculty, voted in favor of a motion to convict the student upon the testimony
of the servant, while the Southern members voted against it. The matter
seems to have excited a good deal of comment, and immediately after the
publication of the charge concerning his " unsoundness, " the president de-
manded an investigation. The board of trustees made a full investigation,
and reported that the charge was "wholly unsustained by the evidence."
Professor Barnard testified before the board as follows: "I am a slave-
holder, and if I know myself, I am sound on the slavery question." Jefferson
Davis strenuously urged him to accept government service under the Confed-
eracy, but he declined. His departure from the state was the cause of great
regret among the University trustees, Judge Sharkey declaring it to be noth-
ing less than a "public calamity."
The testimony and proceedings in the "trial" of Dr. Barnard are pub-
lished in the appendix to the House and Senate Journals of 1859. See also
Fulton's Memoirs of F. A. P. Barnard, ch. x.
2 On the 7th of December, 1863, the legislature passed a resolution reciting
that the university buildings had been occupied by state and Confederate troops
who had done " great damage to the buildings, grounds, furniture, and books,
and had destroyed the beautiful groves, much of it in apparent wantonness,
reflecting no credit upon the officers, and calculated to add very little to the
character of the army." Laws, p. 232.
8 Mayes's Hist, of Education in Mississippi, p. 162.
368 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
pointed by the district commanders were old and highly
respected citizens of the state, and the appointments were
approved by all parties. The reconstruction legislature,
however, was not disposed to pursue a non-interference policy,
and in May, 1870, it passed an act to " reconstruct " the uni-
versity. A new board of trustees, among whom were several
44 carpet baggers " and a number of native Republicans, was
appointed in pursuance of the act. The 44 radicalization " of
the university was the subject of loud complaint, and some of
the newspapers called upon Democratic members of the
Faculty to resign, and Democratic citizens were advised not
to patronize an institution where their sons were likely to
have their political principles corrupted.1 This view was
not favorably received, and it appears that but one or two
members of the Faculty left the university in consequence
of the reorganization of the board. The attendance, how-
ever, fell on in a marked degree.2
It appears that no attempt was made to 44 radicalize " the
faculty, and there is no evidence that more than one appoint-
ment was influenced by purely political considerations.3 Dur-
ing this period a good deal of nervousness existed among the
whites, for fear that some colored student would demand
admission to the university, for there appeared to be no legal
ground on which he could be excluded. The constitution
and laws had distinctly provided that all distinctions and dis-
criminations founded on race or color should be prohibited,
and the Supreme Court had upheld the Civil Rights Act in the
case of a negro who refused to occupy a particular seat in a
Jackson theatre.4 The Republican party, in its platform of
1873, declared that it recognized no distinctions in the rights
of all children to equal privileges, and access to all public
schools, colleges, and universities, and declared, moreover,
that should any pf the said institutions deny admission to
any child on account of color, the party was pledged to
enforce this declaration by appropriate legislation.
1 Hayes's Hist, of Education in Mississippi, p. 164.
2 The university opened in September, 1870, with only sixty students, and
as late as January, there were only one hundred present. The Jackson
Clarion of Oct. 11, 1870, said : "The people have revolted at the thought of
placing their sons under radical patronage, when the country abounds with
schools uncorrupted by radical influences."
8 Some of the Republicans arraigned the Faculty for permitting certain
students in their commencement addresses to make use of "partisan lan-
guage," and on one occasion, when a young man was discoursing on "Our
Dead Heroes," a radical member of the board "insulted" him by leaving
the hall. The affair was the subject of a good deal of newspaper comment at
the time. Jackson Clarion, July 24, 1873.
* Donnell vs. Mississippi, 48 Miss. 661.
EDUCATIONAL RECONSTRUCTION 369
The uncertainty as to what action the university authorities
would take in the event the radicals should insist upon the
admission of negro students led Judge Hudson of Yazoo
City to address an open letter to the Faculty propounding
this question : " Will the Faculty, as now composed, receive
or reject an applicant for admission as a student on account
of color ? " The chancellor and seven professors, in P, signed
statement, replied that they would be "governed by consid-
erations of race and color," and that should the applicant
belong to the negro race, they would, without hesitation,
reject him, and as the university was established exclusively
for the white race, they would " instantly resign if the trustees
should require them to receive negro students." "This,"
said the Jackson Clarion, " is a declaration of war against the
fundamental principle of the Republican party, and we warmly
endorse their stand." 1 Governor Alcorn denounced the let-
ter of the professors as the " stuff of political tricksters," told
them if they wished to resign they were perfectly welcome
to do so at any time, and taunted them with being an " obse-
quious faculty, acting under the fear of such men as Judge
Hudson." 2 Shortly after the publication of the correspond-
ence referred to, Mr. Flournoy, the radical editor of Equal
Rights, published at Pontotoc, announced in his paper that
he purposed bringing the matter before the United States
courts under the Civil Rights Act. " We shall," he said,
" endeavor to find a colored boy competent to enter the uni-
versity in a year or two at least, present him for admission,
and test the question whether the professor or the Constitu-
tion is supreme." 3 The board of trustees knew that to dis-
miss the Faculty or open the doors to colored students would
mean the breaking up of the university, consequently their
insistence on these points was abandoned. No colored stu-
dents ever applied for admission to the white university. This
was probably on account of the liberal provision made for
their race elsewhere; namely, the establishment of several
normal schools and a state university. The university was
located at Rodney, and its first president was ex-United
States Senator Revels. The same appropriations were made
for its support as for the white university, and for several
years it was in a flourishing condition. Governor Ames,
however, in 1874, removed Revels, his policy being to retain
1 The correspondence between Judge Hudson and the Faculty is printed
in the Jackson Clarion of Oct. 11, 1870.
2 Jackson Clarion, July 31, 1871.
8 Quoted in Jackson Clarion, Nov. 25, 1870.
2i
370 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
as few of Alcorn's appointees as possible.1 Revels's successor,
unfortunately, did not command the respect of the students,
and there were charges affecting his personal integrity and
private character. The students revolted at the removal of
Revels, and about sixty of them withdrew. The president
was unable to maintain discipline, the university was declared
to be in " rebellion," and a joint committee of the legislature
was appointed to investigate its condition. They reported
that there was a president whose sole duty was to hold even-
ing prayers and exercises on Sunday at a salary of $2500 a
year ; that the charges of drunkenness, profanity, and lewd-
ness against several officials of the university were found to be
true ; that the president should be required to teach at least one
class ; that the offices of superintendent and treasurer should
be abolished; and the annual appropriations for its support
reduced from $50,000 a year to $15,000.2
One of the features of the educational system of the
reconstructionists was the establishment of a series of fel-
lowships in the two universities, with stipends of $100 each
in addition to free tuition. Each county was entitled to as
many annual fellowships in each institution as it had repre-
sentatives in the legislature. As the course embraced six
years' work, it might easily have happened that some counties
would have had as many as thirty fellows in each university.
It does not appear, however, that more than $1200 was appro-
priated by any county in one year on this account.
Two state normal schools for the colored race were estab-
lished at Holly Spring and Tougaloo, and were liberally sup-
ported by the legislature.
When the reconstructionists surrendered the government
to the democracy, in 1876, the public school system which they
had fathered had become firmly established, its efficiency
increased, and its administration made somewhat less expen-
sive than at first. There does not seem to have been any dis-
1 Governor Ames wrote letters to the presidents of a number of Northern
colleges and universities, asking them to recommend a suitable person for the
head of the university. One of these was directed to a gentleman in Wash-
ington who was requested to ascertain if Frederick Douglas would accept the
position, and if he was a supporter of Alcoru. Correspondence of Governor
Ames, May 25, 1874.
2 The report of the committee is signed by three colored and two white
members. Senate Journal, 1875, p. 321.
The Jackson Clarion of June 30, 1875, said : " During the last four years
Alcorn University has cost the state $240,000. It would have been more
economical for the state to have boarded the students at the Fifth Avenue
Hotel, New York, and sent them to Columbia University."
EDUCATIONAL RECONSTRUCTION 371
position upon the part of the Democrats to abolish it or
impair its efficiency. On the other hand, they kept their
promise to the negroes, made provisions for continuing the
system, and guaranteed an annual five months' term instead
of four, as formerly. Moreover, the cost of maintaining the
schools was very largely reduced, and the administration
decentralized and democratized, thereby removing what had
been a strong obstacle to peace and good order. And thus
the system of public education, unpopular at first, on account
of the circumstances surrounding its establishment, has grown
in favor with the people, until to-day it is the chief pride of
the commonwealth, and is destined to be the chief means of
solving the great problem which the Civil War left as a
legacy to the white race.
CHAPTER ELEVENTH
THE REVOLUTION
I. THE ELECTION CAMPAIGN OF 1875
THE election campaign of 1875 was the most exciting in
the history of the state, and in some respects it will compare
favorably with any political struggle that ever occurred on
American soil. The officers to be elected that year were the
state treasurer, members of Congress, members of the legisla-
ture, and all county and local officers. The Democrats resolved
to make a supreme effort to carry the election. For the first
time since 1868, they were strongly united, and with some
hope of success, although a Republican majority of 30,000
was to be overcome. Since 1868, they had made no effort to
carry the election, with the exception of the feeble attempt to
elect Judge Dent in 1869. In 1873, they virtually disbanded
and declined to even nominate a ticket, gave up their party
name, and supported Alcorn for governor, and Greeley for
President. They were now encouraged by the schism in the
Republican party, having reason to believe that they would
secure the support of many of the white Republicans and
negroes who were identified with the state. The result of
the recent election in the North, by which the House of Repre-
sentatives had become Democratic, also gave them hope.
The initial movement in the campaign of 1875 began as early
as the 3d of March, when a caucus of Democratic members of
the legislature was held in the capitol. It appointed a com-
mittee of 42, under the chairmanship of John M. Stone, to
effect the reorganization of the party. The committee met
on the 17th of May, and set August 3 as the date for the
state convention, and recommended the nomination of the
ablest and best men for Congress, for the legislature, and for
the state offices.1 The convention which met August 3 was
a large and representative one. It was addressed by the
Hon. L. Q. C. Lamar, fresh from his eulogy on Sumner, and
at the time the idol of his party. He advised strongly against
1 Mayes's Lamar, pp. 249-250.
372
THE ELECTION CAMPAIGN OF 1875 373
the "color line," and urged the whites to do nothing to
abridge the rights of the colored race.1 The platform adopted
recognized the civil and political equality of all men, favored
public education, the selection of honest officials, economy in
the administration of the government, biennial sessions of the
legislature, an able and competent judiciary and the restric-
tion of its duties to judicial functions only, the discontinuance
of excessive local and special legislation, and the elevation of
the standard of official character. The chief arraignment of
the Ames government is found in plank number twelve. It
reads as follows : " The building up of partisan newspapers by
legislation, the arming of the militia in time of peace, the
unconstitutional attempt to take from the people the election
of tax collectors, the attempted passage of the Metropolitan
Police Bill, the attempted corruption of the judiciary by the
use of executive patronage, we denounce as great outrages
upon constitutional liberty ; while, as evidence of the utter
incapacity of our present rulers to administer the affairs of
the state, we point to the mass of confusion in which the
revenue and registration laws of the state has been placed, the
necessity of extraordinary sessions of the legislature to cure
the blunders and follies of the regular sessions, and to the
repeated executive and legislative acts which have been by
the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional and void."
Another important duty of the convention was the selection
of an executive committee to conduct the campaign. J. Z.
George, a late brigadier general in the Confederate army, and
at that time one of the leading attorneys of the state, was
appointed chief manager of the campaign.
The campaign was one of unprecedented vigor and enthu-
siasm. The whites left their fields, shops, and stores to take
part in the canvass, and for three months little else seems to
have been done. Every man was pressed into service. " Mis-
sissippi demands," said the Macon Beacon^ " that every man
shall do his duty in the campaign." The Republicans were
almost equally active and determined. They devoted them-
selves to organizing and drilling the negroes, who were en-
rolled in clubs, usually one in each community ; weekly
meetings were held, generally in out-of-the-way places and at
night, at which the negroes were harangued by white leaders,
who carefully instructed them how to register, how to ap-
proach the polls, and how to vote. Judge Watson says he
1 The Clarion of August 4 said that his speech was " the ablest made in
the capitol since the war ; massive in argument, irresistible in logic, states-
manlike in the policy it advocated, and eloquent."
374 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
heard them on the stump advise the negroes never to follow
their old masters in politics, but to watch them and be sure
to take a different course, and they would certainly be right.1
They were told that the Southern white man was their enemy,
and that Democratic success meant the reinslavement of the
colored race. This was the most effective argument of the
Republicans — it was a scarecrow that had not entirely disap-
peared as late as the presidential election of 1884. The
negroes were also made to believe that the defeat of the Re-
publican party would insure the disestablishment of the pub-
lic school system, or the denial of its benefits to the colored
race. They were told that General Grant wanted them to
vote the Republican ticket. These, and many other repre-
sentations of a similar character, were made by those inter-
ested in securing the negro vote. Upon the advice of the
state committee, the whites organized themselves into clubs,
generally of a semi-military character, had parades, barbe-
cues, mammoth torchlight processions with banners arid
transparencies, fired anvils and even used cannons in their
demonstrations.2 Many of their organizations were furnished
with military equipments, for which purpose extensive impor-
tations of arms were made, almost every town receiving a
consignment. A Vicksburg hardware merchant testified that
his business was larger in 1875 than at any time in its history,
except the first year after the war. A well-known Mississip-
pian who occupied a judicial position in Washington told the
New York Times correspondent, October 22, that both parties
in Mississippi were arming, each determined to carry the elec-
tion, that 500 Spencer rifles had been brought to the small
town in which he had formerly resided, and upward of
10,000 had been brought into the state at large. Another
judge testified that §4000 had been spent for arms in his
county.3 These preparations were the subject of much edi-
1 Boutwell Report, p. 42.
2 In Monroe, Lowndes, Hinds, Kemper, and other counties, cannon were
purchased, furnished by the national committee, or borrowed from municipali-
ties in other states. Constant calls were made upon Chairman George for
cannon to be used in firing salutes on barbecue days and similar occasions.
The cannon were dragged from point to point, and discharged along the pub-
lic roads and in the neighborhood of Republican meetings. The commander
of the United States post at Jackson loaned the Democrats a cannon, and
on the occasion of a parade, they fired it so near the governor's house as to
break the window panes. The commander of the post was court-martialled
for allowing the United States ordnance to be used for this purpose. The
Republicans alleged that this kind of demonstration terrified the negroes arid
kept them at home. The allegation was not without foundation.
8 Boutwell Report, p. 1143.
THE ELECTION CAMPAIGN OF 1875 375
torial comment in the Republican press. The Clarion replied
that it was not unusual for gentlemen of means to purchase
improved firearms.
Monster open-air meetings were held in almost every
neighborhood of the state. The chairman of the executive
committee was overwhelmed with requests for speakers.1
Orators of national repute were brought from other states to
aid in arousing the people to a sense of the importance of
the contest. The New York Tribune said the only campaign
in the country that had any life in it was the one in Missis-
sippi ; that the Democrats were holding immense mass meet-
ings throughout the state, and a notable feature of these
gatherings was the attendance of large numbers of negroes.
II. KIOTS AND DISTURBANCES IN 1876
The peace and quiet of the state were disturbed several
times during the progress of the campaign by conflicts be-
tween the whites and blacks. The first of these occurred at
Vicksburg on the occasion of a Fourth of July celebration.
It resulted in the breaking up of the meeting and the death
of several negroes.
Another " riot " occurred at Yazoo City, September 1. On
the occasion of a political meeting at which Colonel Morgan,
the leading Republican politician of the county, was speak-
ing, a disturbance was raised which resulted in the death of
one white man and three negroes. The news soon spread
that the negroes were " rising " and coming to sack the town.
Great excitement prevailed, the city was put under martial
law, and an ex-Union soldier deputed to assume control of
affairs. He organized patrols, and picketed the roads leading
into the town. Two military companies were hastily organ-
ized for defence, and were joined by "Northern men and
Southern men, Democrats and Republicans." 2 The expected
1 Hon. L. Q. C. Lamar was the most popular speaker in the campaign of
1875. Every community wanted him. Editor Barksdale of the 'Clarion
and Judge Wiley P. Harris came next in demand. During the two months
preceding the election, General George sent and received more than five hun-
dred telegrams, relating to the management of the campaign. They are
printed in the Boutwell Report as a part of the documentary evidence.
2 See testimony of W. H. Foote, a colored member of the legislature.
Boutwell Report, p. 1666 ; also the testimony of Garnett Andrews, the ex-
Union soldier referred to, p. 1699. It is utterly impossible for a Northern
man, unacquainted with conditions in the South, to undeistand correctly
the terror which an apprehended negro insurrection creates in the minds of
the whites. Colonel Andrews testified as follows, on this point : " From the
376 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
invasion never took place. Colonel Morgan fled from the
city, and went to Jackson to lay his case before the governor,
who finally offered to send him back and reinstate him in his
office by means of an escort of three hundred colored militia.
The citizens of the county were " alarmed " at the proposed
invasion of their county by negro troops, and accordingly
organized to resist it. The borders of the county and the
roads leading thereto were watched night and day, and the
whites were kept informed by telegraph of every movement
of the state authorities. The Jackson Clarion of October
13 declared that "the invasion of Yazoo with an armed
negro militia, fired with bloody intents," would justify what-
ever measures the citizens might "see fit to adopt for the
protection of their lives and sacred honor." The excite-
ment became so intense that Colonel Morgan wisely de-
clined to return under such circumstances. There is reason
to believe that had the "invasion" been attempted, few
colored militiamen would have escaped to tell the tale.
The purpose of the whites in this respect was open and
avowed.1
On October 9 occurred the Friars Point conflict in Coa-
homa County. Coahoma, like most of the river counties, had
colored officials. The sheriff was from Oberlin, Ohio. The
time of this riot up to the time of the election, and a short time after, I have
never suffered such an amount of anguish and alarm in all my life. I had
served through the whole war as a soldier in the army of northern Virginia,
and saw all of it ; but I never did experience such fear and alarm. And this
was the universal feeling among the white people. It showed itself upon the
countenances of the people. Men looked haggard and pale after undergoing
this sort of thing for six weeks or a month, and I have felt, when I lay down
to sleep, that neither myself nor my wife and children were in safety."
Boutwell Testimony, II. pp. 1201-1255.
1 Colonel Morgan made a lengthy report to the governor, on affairs in
Yazoo County. It fills ten columns in the Jackson Pilot. Subsequently, he
published a volume of 512 pages, giving an account of his varied experiences
in Mississippi. The work is entitled Yazoo, or the Picket Line of Freedom
(Rufus H. Darby, Washington, 1884). The career of the "carpet bagger" is
well illustrated in the life of this man. He was a Union soldier from Wis
consin, settled in Mississippi at the close of the war, and engaged in cotton-
planting and lumbering. Like many Northern men who went South after
the war, he failed in the business of cotton-planting, and entered politics. He
says he was received by the Southern people with the greatest kindness,
when he first went among them, but lost his popularity on account of his
championship of the Freedmen's Bureau and his association with the ne-
groes. After the revolution, he went to Washington, where, like many other
carpet baggers in a similar position, he secured employment in one of the
executive departments. Here he remained until ousted by Secretary Lamar
in 1884. He then went West, where he now lives. Morgan's correspondence
shows that he is a man of education, and his political opponents testify that
as an officer he was able and faithful.
RIOTS AND DISTURBANCES IN 1875 377
state senator was colored, and was also from Ohio. While
holding the office of senator he was appointed receiver of
public moneys, and within a year he defaulted with a large
sum and ran away. Another Ohio negro was sent over to
the county from Jackson to fill the senatorial vacancy, and
was easily elected. While holding this office, he was appointed
county superintendent of education, and special agent to col-
lect taxes. The sheriff wanted him to be elected clerk of the
county. A convention was held, the sheriff getting his ticket
through, whereupon the dissatisfied Republicans, among whom
were United States Senator Alcorn, General Chalmers, Judge
Reed, and other large property holders, issued a call for a mass
meeting, at which Alcorn denounced the colored ring in severe
terms. The sheriff announced his intention of replying to
the speech on the following Monday, and sent runners through-
out the county to bring in negroes to protect him in his right of
speech. On Monday, a messenger came in and reported that
an armed body of negroes was approaching the town with
the intention of sacking and burning it. Alcorn and Chalm-
ers hastily organized a force of whites and went to meet
the invading host. The negroes were ordered to disperse;
a battle ensued in which eight men were killed, two being
whites.1
The riot at Rolling Fork in December was, like the others,
a race conflict. Issaquena County, of which Rolling Fork is
the county seat, is situated in the Mississippi " bottoms," and
was made up of large plantations upon which, in some in-
stances, as many as five hundred negroes lived, with perhaps
but one or two white families. The owners of the land usually
lived in the hilly portion of the state. The management of
the county affairs was almost entirely in the hands of the
negroes, there being at this time but two white officers in the
county. The " massacre " grew out of a drunken brawl be-
tween a young white man and a negro, in which the white
man was stabbed and left for dead. The news spread through-
out the county, the report being no doubt greatly exaggerated.
Then again came the report that the negroes were arming
and threatening to destroy the town and kill the whites from
the cradle up. The whites formed a semi-military organiza-
tion, and chose for their leader the Rev. Mr. Ball, a Baptist
preacher, a Northern man and an ex-Union soldier, and
1 Letter of James L. Alcorn in New York Tribune, Oct. 11, 1875. Alcorn
says the affair had its origin in the party schism between his adherents
and those of Ames. Aines charges Alcorn with being solely responsible
for it.
378 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
marched out to meet the negroes. In the fight that ensued,
six of them were killed.1
The most noteworthy of the riots of 1875, and really the
last race conflict in the state of Mississippi, was that which
took place at the little seminary town of Clinton in Hinds
County, September 4, the occasion being a Republican barbe-
cue. It appears that twelve or fifteen hundred negroes and
about one hundred white men were present. The Republi-
cans consented to have a joint discussion with the Demo-
crats, the Democratic speaker to have the first speech. After
he had spoken, and the Republican speaker had ascended the
stand, a tremendous firing commenced, and the negroes began to
run. How the disturbance started is a question upon which
the testimony is conflicting. The Republicans charge that
it was brought about by four or five drunken young white
men. The Democrats, on the other hand, claim that it was
begun by the negroes. In the fight that ensued several ne-
groes and three white men were killed, two of the latter
being young men, who, it was alleged, were pursued across
the field, overtaken, and horribly murdered and mutilated.
The news spread rapidly, and the county was wild with ex-
citement. Soon special trains with companies of armed men
came from Jackson, Vicksburg, Bolton, and other places, to
aid the whites, for it was believed that there was to be a
general massacre. During the days following the riot, a sort
of reign of terror existed in the community. Negroes sus-
pected of being implicated in the killing of the white men at
Clinton were killed, the number being variously estimated
at from twenty to thirty.2 Many negroes in fear abandoned
1 A few days after this, the whites of Rolling Fork entered into a treaty
with the negroes, delegates from a dozen plantations being present and sign-
ing the treaty. Several of the more desperate negroes were excluded from
the benefits of the amnesty, and the colored signatories pledged themselves
to be peaceable, and to deliver up certain of these offenders. The whites, in
turn, pledged to protect the negroes in every way. The treaty is printed in
Boutwell Report, p. 699, and is signed by seventeen whites and blacks.
2 Judge Alderson thought the number was fifty. Boutwell Report, p. 295.
Soon after the riot, Chairman George, of the Democratic state executive com-
mittee, appointed a committee of three persons to investigate the causes of
the affair, and report the results to him. They took the sworn statements
of three negroes and twenty white men, five being classified as Republicans.
The committee reported that only fifteen took part in the "premeditated
massacre" of the whites ; that the beginning of the quarrel was involved in
obscurity ; that as soon as the firing began, the colored men made a rush with
the cry : " Kill the white men "; that the whites retreated ; that two negroes
were killed on the spot, and four or five wounded ; that young Sively and
Thompson were murdered, and their bodies mutilated ; that Mr. Chilton, an
innocent white man, was killed in his own yard ; and that Captain White was
RIOTS AND DISTURBANCES IN 1875 379
their homes and crops and fled to the swamps, or lay out in
the woods, sleeping on the ground or in out-houses. Others
fled to Jackson to seek the protection of the governor, and
took up their abode about the United States courthouse, where
they were left to the charity of the people for support. There
they remained in large numbers for many days, while their
cotton was spoiling in the fields. They besieged the gov-
ernor for the state arms, demanding that they be given an op-
portunity to defend themselves. The whites, fearing that the
governor would yield to their entreaties, detailed thirty or
forty of their number to guard the state house where the
arms were stored.
Three days after the riot, the governor issued a proclama-
tion reciting that persons in various parts of the state had
formed themselves into military companies without authority
of law ; that they moved from point to point in support of
each other without the appearance and consent of the peace
officers, and without the knowledge or authority of the state
government; that these organizations had overthrown civil
government in Yazoo County, set it at defiance in Hinds, and
created distrust and fear in Warren, causing loss of many
lives, and compelling many persons to flee from their homes.
The governor commanded all members of such organizations
to disband forthwith, and required all citizens to render obe-
dience to and assist the peace officers in the preservation of
order and the enforcement of the law. The whites denied the
existence of such a state of things as was set forth in this
proclamation, denied that the law was being defied or peace
disturbed, and, furthermore, offered to place at the disposal
of the governor a number of military companies made up of
white men, without respect to party affiliations, to maintain
order should the occasion require it.1 But the governor had
no faith in the white militia, and accordingly fell back upon
his old resource, namely, an appeal to the President for
Federal troops. He telegraphed the President, September 8,
stabbed and left for dead. The report was published and circulated as
Campaign Document, No. 2. It is printed in the Boutwell Report. The
grand jury of Hinds County made a thorough investigation, examining more
than one hundred witnesses, and reported March 25, 1876, that while it was
evident that many persons, both white and colored, were killed, they were
unable to find any single witness who saw any man kill another ; that no wit-
ness was able to tell just how the affair began ; and that the riot was entirely
unpremeditated.
1 The citizens of Aberdeen telegraphed, offering one hundred good men ;
Natchez offered to furnish one hundred and twenty-five ; Holly Springs,
one hundred or more.
380 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
that "domestic violence in its most aggravated form pre-
vails in various parts of the state beyond the power of the
authorities to suppress." l The following day, Chairman
George telegraphed Attorney General Edwards Pierrepont
that there were no disturbances in the state and no obstruc-
tion to the execution of the laws, and that " peace prevails
throughout the state, and the employment of United States
troops would but increase the distrust of the people in the
good faith of the present state government." Two days later,
he again telegraphed Pierrepont that offers of help were
freely made to the governor of assistance to preserve the
peace, and reassured him that there was no danger of disturb-
ance unless initiated by the state authorities. Governor
Ames first tried to get the troops under Grant's Vicksburg
proclamation of December, 1874, but failing in this, he asked
for them " because the legislature could not be convened in
time to meet the emergency." Pierrepont, on September 10,
asked the governor by wire some questions about the nature
of the emergency, but could get no satisfaction, and finally,
on the 14th, wrote him a letter which was widely published
and commented upon at the time. He quoted from a de-
spatch of the President, who was absent from Washington,
saying that the whole public was tired out with the annual
autumnal outbreaks in the South, and that the majority were
ready to condemn any interference on the part of the gov-
ernment, and that Governor Ames should exhaust his own
resources before receiving aid from the United States govern-
ment. The Attorney General furthermore assured the gov-
ernor that he had given no proof, had made no allegation, in
fact, that the legislature could not be called together, and
that if called together, it would not support any measure that
he might propose in order to preserve the public order. He
was, however, given the promise of troops when the require-
ments of the constitution should have been complied with,
either by summoning the legislature or by doing his best to
suppress his " domestic violence " with the state forces. The
1 The despatch called attention to disturbances in Yazoo, Hinds, Warren,
and other counties, and concluded as follows: "After careful examination
of all reports, I find myself compelled to appeal to the general government
for the means of giving that protection to which every American citizen is
entitled. I do not now make formal application under the provisions of the
Constitution, but telegraph you to know first if you can and will regard the
proclamation issued by you in December last upon the application of the legis-
lature of this state as still in force. A necessity of immediate action cannot
be overstated. If your proclamation of December is not in force, I will at
once make a formal application under the Constitution of the United States."
A copy of this despatch is among the unpublished papers of Governor Ames.
RIOTS AND DISTURBANCES IN 1876 381
President said to the Attorney General in regard to the appli-
cation of Governor Ames ; " I heartily wish that peace and
good order may be restored without issuing the proclamation ;
but if it is not, the proclamation must be issued, and I shall
instruct the commander of the force to have no child's play.
If there is a necessity for military interference, there is justice
in such interference as to deter evil-doers. I would suggest
the sending of a despatch (or better, a private messenger) to
Governor Ames, urging him to strengthen his own position
by exhausting his own resources before he receives govern-
ment aid. He might accept the assistance offered by the
citizens of Jackson and elsewhere. Governor Ames and his
advisers can be made perfectly secure. As many of the
troops now in Mississippi as he deems necessary may be sent
to Jackson. If he is betrayed by those who offer assistance,
he will be in a position to defeat their ends and punish them."
In transmitting this despatch to Governor Ames, Pierre-
pont said : " You see by this the mind of the President, with
which I and every member of the Cabinet who has been con-
sulted are in full accord. You see the difficulties ; you see
the responsibilities which you assume. We cannot under-
stand why you do not strengthen yourself in the way the
President suggests. Nor do we see why you do not call the
legislature together and obtain from them whatever powers
and money you may need. I suggest that you take all law-
ful means and all needed measures to preserve the peace by
the forces in your own state, and let the country see that the
citizens of Mississippi, who are largely favorable to good
order, and are largely Republican, have the courage and the
manhood to fight for their rights and to destroy the bloody
ruffians who murder the innocent and unoffending freedmen.
Everything is in readiness ; be careful to bring yourself strictly
within the Constitution and the laws, and if there is such
resistance to your state authorities as you cannot by all the
means at your command suppress, the President will swiftly
aid you in crushing these lawless traitors to human rights."
The governor continued to insist upon troops, and de-
clared his willingness to have the " odium in all its magni-
tude descend upon him," if only they might be sent. It
should be said that the sentiment in favor of Federal inter-
ference was by no means unanimous among the Republicans
of the state, and to this fact, as much as to anything else, may
be attributed Governor Ames's failure to get troops.1
1 Nearly all the native white Republicans of the state indorsed President
Grant's non-interference policy. Among those especially active in defeating
382 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
III. PREPARATIONS FOR WAR
The governor, having failed to get Federal troops, pro-
ceeded to organize the state militia and put the state on a
" war-footing," as the whites expressed it. The legislature
in the spring had passed what was commonly known as the
" Gatling Gun " Bill. This act authorized the governor to
organize two regiments of ten companies each, and to pur-
chase four or more Gatling guns, and to organize a corps of
select officers and men from the infantry to send with the
guns. Sixty thousand dollars were 'appropriated to carry the
act into execution, $5000 to be used in the purchase of arms.
No action was taken toward organizing the militia under this
act until the Clinton and Yazoo riots made it the governor's
duty, as he believed.1 Warlike preparations now began in
earnest. D. Apple ton & Co. were telegraphed for one hun-
dred copies of Upton's " Infantry Tactics " ; the chief of ord-
nance was asked for fifteen hundred haversacks, and the
state's quota of arms (one thousand Springfield breech-loaders)
were ordered to be purchased in Hinds County; and the
United States commissary department at New Orleans was
asked if it could furnish five thousand rations of pork and
bacon.2 On the 22d of September, the governor wrote
General Emery, commanding the Department of the Gulf,
introducing Colonel Morgan, " who," he says, " will repre-
sent the true condition of things in Mississippi," and added
that he would have to reorganize the militia and possibly
to fight. He asked that " a company of troops be sent
to Yazoo, and some to Jackson, as the latter would be the
chief seat of war, if war we have." 3 These preparations
the governor's plan were United States Senator Pease and Representative
George C. McKee, both " carpet baggers." They were severely censured by
the governor, and were charged with having sold out to the Democrats. His
course was also condemned by some of the leading colored politicians of the
state, among whom were ex-United States Senator Revels and Ham Carter,
the latter a member of the legislature from Vicksburg. In a letter to General
Grant, Carter says, "The large majority of the Republicans indorse your
policy of non-intervention." New York Herald of Jan. 10, 1876.
1 Testimony of A. G. Packer, Adjutant General, Impeachment Testimony,
p. 131.
2 See Boutwell Report, I. p. 470.
3 Correspondence, 1875, p. 158. On the llth of September, Governor
Ames telegraphed Pierrepont that the necessity which called forth his de-
spatch of the 8th to the President still existed. " This violence," he said,
" is incident to the political contest now pending. The race feeling is so
intense that protection for the colored people by white organizations is
PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 383
" alarmed " the whites, who asserted that the purpose of the
governor was to provoke a conflict between the races such
as would induce the sending of United States troops which,
together with the negro militia, would enable the governor to
control the approaching election in the interests of the Re-
publican party. The Clarion of October 13 said : " Ames is
organizing a war of races with all its attendant horrors, in
our otherwise peaceful state. The time has arrived when the
companies that have been organized for protective and defen-
sive purposes should come to the front. There are three of
them in the city of Jackson. There are others in Hinds —
let still others be formed all over the state as speedily as
possible, and armed and equipped with the best means that
can be extemporized for the occasion. We hope to see a large
and imposing display of these defensive organizations as soon
as practicable. Let every citizen hold himself in readiness
to join one or other of these companies for the emergency
that the bold, reckless, and desperate adventurer, who is in
the executive office, seems determined to force upon us."
There seems to have been an honest impression in the minds
of the whites that the governor desired to provoke a conflict
between the races, but when we consider what must have
been the appalling consequences of such a conflict, we are
forced to believe that the impression was not well founded.
As the organization proceeded, the indignation of the whites
increased. The chief places of honor were given to men
thoroughly hated and distrusted by the whites.1 For this,
Ames was hardly to blame, since none other would accept
places in the militia. In view of the opposition of the whites
to negro militia, it was suggested that the whites should enlist,
and be able thereby to counteract the evil of the negro militia.
They were so advised by General George on October 2.
despaired of. The Republican party of this state has been opposed to organ-
izing a militia of colored men. It has been believed by them that it would
develop a war of races which would extend beyond the borders of this state.
The organization of the whites alone, where the issue is one of race, would be
equally ineffectual. I am aware of the reluctance of the people, of the
country to national interference. Permit me to express the hope that the
odium of such interference shall not attach to President Grant or the Repub-
lican party. As the governor of a state, I made a demand which cannot well
be refused. I cannot escape the conscientious discharge of my duty toward
a class of American citizens whose only crime consists in their color."
1 The appointee for Adjutant General was a " carpet bagger " whose char-
acter was impeached by men of his own party. One of his two aides-de-camp
was a negro, and the other a defaulter and criminal who afterwards fled the
state. All of the five brigadier generals were Republicans and three were
negroes. There were a number of negro colonels.
384 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
There was nothing in the law to prevent them from enlisting.
But they charged that the governor did not want white com-
panies in his organization, and that every difficulty was put in
their way to prevent them from enlisting.1 There was doubt-
less a preference for negro militia, since the governor believed
that he could not rely on the white troops to execute his
orders.
In Hinds County, seven companies were organized, of which
only two were white, the colored companies being composed
largely of refugees from Clinton, and some of whom were
charged by the whites with complicity in the " massacre " of
the three white men. One or two companies under the com-
mand of white officers were enlisted in Amite County, and
the organization was proceeding elsewhere when, late in
September, a bombshell was thrown into the ranks of those
who were supervising the organization. It came in the form
of an injunction sued out by the Democrats, restraining the
auditor from issuing warrants for any part of the amount
appropriated by the legislature for military purposes. The
injunction was granted by Chief Justice Peyton on the
ground that no state may keep troops in time of peace and
when there is no obstruction to the execution of the laws
and no riot or insurrection to suppress.2 Shortly before the
set-back to the governor's military preparations, an incident
occurred which came near causing a conflict between the
negro militia and the whites. The governor had detailed
one of the colored companies, made up of Clinton refugees,
and commanded by Senator Caldwell, a courageous and
dangerous negro, and an alleged participant in the Clinton
riot, to escort several wagon loads of arms through the coun-
try to Edwards Station for the purpose of arming colored
companies in that town. The arms were not shipped by
rail for the reason, as the governor alleged, that they would
1 See testimony of H. Barksdale, Impeachment Testimony, pp. 144-145,
for an account of the obstacles alleged to have been placed in the way of a
white company which desired to enlist.
2 Aberdeen Examiner, September 30. Alexander Warner, the chairman
of the Republican state executive committee, telegraphed Attorney General
Pierrepont that the organization of the militia had been enjoined by the Dem-
ocratic state executive committee, in order to carry the election by fraud.
October 24, there was a full meeting of the committee at Jackson, and they
telegraphed the Attorney General that the injunction was granted by a Re-
publican judge upon the petition of a private citizen and a tax payer of Jack-
son. The Attorney General was also reminded that only the payment of the
money was enjoined, not the organization of the militia. The committee said,
44 We take pleasure in assuring you that the most profound peace and good
order prevail throughout the state." Boutwell Report, p. 290.
PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 385
be seized by the whites.1 The escort proceeded along the
highway to Edwards with drums beating, banners flying, and
bayonets fixed, until the town of Clinton was reached. Here
they paraded the streets and encamped for the night. The
rage of the whites knew no bounds. They telegraphed Gen-
eral George, asking if they should attack the company or
submit, declaring that they could do either. He advised
them not to interfere with the escort, although it required
strenuous efforts on his part to prevent them from attacking
it.2 The escort proceeded to Edwards, delivered the arms,
and returned to Jackson with two other companies, with-
out interruption, whereupon the Jackson Pilot declared that
the Senator could exclaim, " Veni, vidi, vici!" About the
same time, the governor was making preparations to send a
consignment of arms to a colored company in De Soto County,
but the excitement it occasioned, and the belief that they
would be seized by the whites, induced the abandonment of the
project. It was also at this time that the excitement at Yazoo
was at its highest, on account of the governor's proposal to
send Colonel Morgan back with an escort of colored militia.
Nothing illustrates better Governor Ames's want of tact in
dealing with the whites, for he should have known that few
things were more offensive to them than a body of negro
soldiers equipped with all the paraphernalia of war, marching
and countermarching through the country with the purpose,
as was commonly asserted, of striking terror into the minds
of the whites. They declared that the governor's course in
arming the negro militia was one of hostility to them, and
that he desired a conflict. The governor by way of reply
insisted that he was only trying to do his duty, which he was
bound by oath to do, that the state government was power-
less to execute the laws, that he could not secure the assist-
ance of the Federal government, and that he was compelled,
as a last resort, to call in the aid of the state militia, and that
as the state government commanded the respect of the
colored race only, it must depend for military support on
colored troops. The governor declared that he had no faith
in the promises of the white troops. He believed, sincerely,
that in the first conflict between the whites and blacks, which
1 A consignment of arms shipped by boat from Greenville to Vicksburg to
be used for a similar purpose had been seized by the whites. Boutwell
Report, p. 230. The arms intended for the white company at Edwards were
shipped by express and were not interfered with.
2 Leading citizens of Jackson remained at the telegraph office until one
o'clock in the morning, sending telegraphic appeals to Clinton urging the
whites not to interfere with the company. Impeachment Testimony, p. 146.
2c
386 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
the militia was called upon to suppress, the white troops
would go over in a body to the side of the white rioters.
In this situation, he argued, was it not wise to give the pref-
erence to colored troops upon whom he could depend? But
it was his distrust of the whites, his want of confidence in
their integrity, that hurt them most. He should have en-
couraged the enlistment of the white troops and discouraged
the enlistment of negroes, in view of the universal prejudice
against the colored troops, and then waited for the faithless-
ness of the white soldiers to show itself. It was the constant
complaint of the whites that Governor Ames regarded them
as unworthy of his official preferment as long as colored men
could be forthcoming. There is no doubt that much might
have been done to remove this impression, and consequently
to secure the moral support of the race which constituted
the wealth and intelligence of the state. It should also be
said that in pursuing this course of arming the colored
militia, Governor Ames opposed the judgment of many white
Republicans of the state.1 L. Q. C. Lamar expressed the
general feeling of the whites at this time when he said : " I
think the future of Mississippi is very dark. Ames has it
dead. There can be no escape from his rule. His negro
regiments are nothing. He will get them killed up, and
then Grant will take possession for him. May God help
us!"2
About the 5th of October, Mr. C. K. Chase of New York
arrived in Mississippi as an accredited agent of the depart-
ment of justice, having been commissioned by Attorney Gen-
eral Edwards Pierrepont to investigate the condition of
affairs, and report to the President if, in his opinion, the
necessity for United States troops existed, and if possible
to quiet the political excitement which was now at fever
heat. He took up his abode with Governor Ames, and was
the recipient of his hospitality while in Mississippi. Mr. Chase
says he found the city of Jackson in great excitement, and un-
uniformed militia, both white and colored, were parading the
streets. It was at this time that the organization of the
1 Judge Alderson says that Governor Ames did wrong in arming the colored
militia, and that he refused to accept proffers of aid from some of the best cit-
izens that he had ever seen. Boutwell Report, p. 294. Hon. George T. Swann
says he advised the governor not to organize the militia because it would be
composed mostly of colored men who would be gobbled up as fast as they
could be enlisted. Boutwell Report, p. 300. J. H. Estelle, another prominent
white Republican, said, "The feeling was universal among us that the
negroes ought not to be armed and suffered to march about as soldiers."
2 Mayes's Lamar, p. 211.
PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 387
militia was proceeding under the direction of Governor Ames,
and plans were in preparation for sending Colonel Morgan
back to Yazoo City, both of which Mr. Chase advised against.
Shortly after his arrival, he sought an interview with General
George and Editor Barksdale, and it was through his offices,
as he claims, that the conference between the governor and
the citizens was held, at which he was a spectator. Mr. Chase
remained in Jackson until after the election, using his influ-
ence to bring about a fair election. He took with him to
Mississippi a number of detectives from New York and Wash-
ington, who were sent to operate in different parts of the
state and keep him informed of the condition of affairs. As
complaints of disturbances came to Governor Ames, they were
turned over to Mr. Chase, who in turn laid them before the
Democratic chairman for explanation. General George would
then telegraph to the seat of the trouble, asking for a state-
ment of the cause of the disturbances. Upon receiving a
reply, he submitted it by way of explanation to Mr. Chase.
In a number of instances, each party sent out a special agent
to investigate jointly the causes of alleged disturbances.1
What would doubtless have resulted in a bloody conflict
between the whites and blacks, and perhaps a violent over-
throw of the state government, was prevented by a treaty
between the Democrats and the governor, commonly known
as the Peace Agreement. Some days previous to the conclu-
sion of the treaty, an unsigned call had been published in the
Jackson Clarion, and in the Vicksburg papers, calling upon
all good citizens to meet in Jackson, for the purpose, it was
understood, of taking action in regard to the governor's
course in arming the militia.2 It was believed by the Repub-
licans that the action to be taken was to demand the disband-
ment of the militia, and if this was not done, to declare war
upon the governor.3 The meeting was held at Angelo Hall,
1 Chase says the explanations General George furnished were not satisfac-
tory to him, and he finally reported to the Attorney General that there was
no chance for a fair election without the aid of United States troops. Testi-
mony Boutwell Report, p. 1804. His report to the Attorney General was
made October 27, and is printed in the Boutwell Report, p. 92, documentary
evidence. He said the Democrats were determined to carry the election, and
declared that they had intimidated the negroes by hanging several of their
leaders, that the Republicans dared not put out a ticket in some counties,
and were forced to make compromise tickets in others, that the governor was
powerless, that refugees were coming in daily, complaints hourly, and an
invasion from Alabama was expected.
2 Testimony of C. K. Chase, Boutwell Report, Vol. II. p. 1802.
8 Testimony of H. B. Ware, Republican chancellor, Boutwell Report,
p. 1217. Judge Ware says that on the day of the meeting train-loads of men
388 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
and was largely attended. In the course of the deliberations,
it was suggested that a committee of the citizens should wait
on the governor and have a conference with him in regard to
the militia. Judge Ware was requested to ascertain if the
governor would consent to receive the committee. He called
upon Governor Ames and earnestly advised him to disband
the militia. The governor said that he desired peace, and it
would be the happiest moment of his life if he could effect
that purpose by disbanding the militia.1 He readily con-
sented to receive the committee, whereupon General George,
with a dozen of the prominent gentlemen present, called at
the mansion, and a full and frank interview took place, in the
course of which the governor announced that in consequence
of Colonel Morgan's refusal to go back to Yazoo City he had
abandoned the attempt to reinstate him, and that he had also
countermanded the shipment of arms to De Soto County.
He then expressed fears that peace and good order would
not be preserved, and that colored men would not be allowed
to vote as they desired ; that his whole object in calling out
the militia was to preserve order and suppress disturbances ;
that he was originally opposed to arming the militia, but was
under the circumstances forced to do so ; but in view of the
assurances from the citizens that they desired peace and good
order and a fair election, and that they would by example
and precept do all in their power to maintain peace and
secure a fair election, he was willing to meet their views as
far as he could, and with this end in view he would promise
to disband the militia ; that no more companies should be
organized ; and that their arms should be deposited in certain
depots and there guarded by United States troops to be
detailed for that purpose, or by men selected by himself and
General George.2 The result of the interview was then
reported to the meeting, the agreement was ratified, and a
committee of twenty citizens was appointed to return to the
mansion and express the thanks of the meeting for what the
governor had done. There can be little doubt that this
arrangement prevented bloodshed. Much credit for the
treaty was due to Mr. Chase, the special agent of the depart-
ment of justice. No one was more pleased with the arrange-
came in from different parts of the state, most of whom had on their side
arms. To carry out their purpose they went so far as to organize a battalion
and elect Mr. Joshua T. Green major.
1 Boutwell Report, p. 1218.
2 The text of this agreement is printed in Impeachment Testimony, pp.
230—233.
PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 389
ment than Governor Ames. On the following day, he wrote
the Attorney General of the United States: "Through the
timely intervention of Mr. C. K. Chase, a bloody revolution
has been averted. The condition of affairs which preceded
the Clinton riot grew worse from day to day, and assumed
gigantic proportions under the feeling of hostility to the
militia I was organizing. The danger became apparent to
all, and in the interest of peace and a fair election, an under-
standing was had to the effect that the opposition was to do
all in their power to preserve peace, and I to suspend further
operations with my militia. I have full faith in their honor,
and implicit confidence that they can accomplish all that they
undertake. Consequently, I believe that we shall have peace,
order, and a fair election. I write this letter to you chiefly
to thank you for sending here a gentleman who has succeeded
in inspiring us all with confidence, and who, by his wisdom
and tact, has saved the history of this state from a bloody
chapter."
On October 23, the Attorney General replied as follows :
" Yours of the 16th came duly, and yesterday I presented it
to the President, who read it to Senator Bruce ; and I also
presented it to the Cabinet. I delayed answering it until
the meeting of the Cabinet, and I have to say that the course
you have taken meets the approval of the President and of the
Cabinet, and that they are each and all much gratified that
your judicious course in making this settlement and pro-
ducing peace without bloodshed proves that you have acted
wisely. I sincerely hope that those with whom you have
negotiated will keep their agreement, and that you will have
a peaceful election. You may be assured that to produce
this result without the necessity of calling out the Federal
troops will redound greatly to your credit throughout the
entire North. You will be advised of the preparations made
to aid you in case the opposition violate their honor and
break their faith. You may feel assured that this depart-
ment will always be ready to aid you in any lawful way to
preserve order and to give the right to every citizen to vote
as he pleases."1
IV. THE TRIUMPH OF THE DEMOCRACY
As the campaign progressed, it became evident to the Re-
publicans that their prospects of success were diminishing.
As early as August 18, Governor Ames wrote Merimon
1 These letters are among the unpublished papers of Governor Aines.
390 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
Howard, a colored member of the legislature : " The political
sky is somewhat overcast. I fear through violence and fraud
that Louisiana and all the Southern states except South Caro-
lina, where elections are held, will go bodily Democratic."
Again, September 5, he wrote to Hon. S. W. Dorsey of Little
Rock, Arkansas, heartily indorsing his suggestion for a con-
vention of Southern Republicans, and observing that "the
times are full of danger for our cause." l The Vicksburg Plain-
dealer (Republican) said " there is no use disguising the fact —
the Republican party has reached a crisis." The Greenville
Republican predicted that it would require the utmost caution
in management to save them from overwhelming defeat. Be-
fore the end of the month, it was apparent that their only
hope was to get United States troops " to prevent the intimi-
dation of Republican voters by the Democrats." On September
25, Governor Ames sent General Dedrick to St. Louis to
meet President Grant and to ask that United States detec-
tives be sent to Mississippi " to penetrate the designs and
schemes of the ' white liners * who are preparing to deprive
colored men of their civil and political liberties by violence." 2
Two days later he wrote General Grant asking if United
States marshals might call on Federal troops to make arrests.3
Mr. Warner, the chairman of the Republican state executive
committee, says he felt satisfied soon after the meeting of the
state committee in August that the will of the people could
not be expressed in the coming election without some kind
of " protection " ; that riots and disturbances were occurring
almost daily ; that the Republican meetings were broken up
here and there, so that it was difficult to get speakers to can-
vass the state.* Accordingly, the Republican chairman with
a committee of " Ames " Republicans went to Washington to
see what protection " our people " could get.6 They styled
themselves the "genuine representatives of the Republican
party in Mississippi." They subsequently had a conference
with the President in New York City, and advised him that he
1 Correspondence, 1875, p. 98.
2 Ibid. p. 159.
8 Ibid. September 2, the governor suggested to Chairman Warner of the
Republican state executive committee that " great advantage would result to
the party if the executive committee should go to the expense of telegraphing
North to such papers as the Chicago Inter-Ocean and Washington Republi-
can the lawlessness and murders committed by the democracy of this state."
Ibid. p. 151.
4 Testimony of A. Warner, Boutwell Report, p. 962.
6 The committee were Chairman Warner, B. K. Bruce, A. R. Howe,
James Hill, John R. Lynch. They were all candidates. Correspondence of
Governor Ames, 1875, p. 152.
THE TRIUMPH OF THE DEMOCRACY 391
could not err in recognizing them as the true representatives
of the party in Mississippi. United States Senator Pease
of the anti-Ames wing of the party denounced the course of
the committee, and telegraphed the President that a posse of
citizens could be got in any county to keep order, and that Fed-
eral interference would be a positive injury to the state.1 This
faction now sent a committee 2 to wait on the President and
induce him to recognize them as the " genuine" Republicans,
and to assure him that there was no need for Federal interfer-
ence in the approaching election. Governor Ames character-
ized the Pease committee as "sore-heads," charged them with
being " venomous and vindictive " toward him, and declared
that they had been repudiated by the Republican party.3 They
assured President Grant that the Ames Republicans were op-
posed to his policy, and had purposely refused to indorse the
national administration in the state convention, against the
protest of the Pease Republicans.4 In the end, the Pease Re-
publicans won, the Federal patronage was withheld from
Governor Ames and his party adherents, and they were left
to fight their battle at the polls without the presence of United
States troops.6 Governor Ames attributed their failure to
get troops mainly to the activity of Senator Pease, whom he
denounced bitterly.
As the election day drew near, proclamations and addresses
fell thick and fast from the hands of the two campaign man-
agers, and the press contained columns of advice to the voters.
The Republican chairman's final address reminded the colored
voters that the government had expended millions of dollars
to secure their right to vote, and millions more would be ex-
pended if necessary ; that President Grant had declared that
there would be no child's play in Mississippi if the troops
were called out, and if the Democrats could afford to risk
their lives for the sake of a few offices, the Republicans could
1 His despatch is printed in the Clarion of Sept. 14, 1875.
8 The members of this committee were Senator Pease, George C. McKee,
and G. Wiley Wells, the two latter being members of Congress — all were
"carpetbaggers."
8 Correspondence of Governor Ames, 1875, p. 152.
4 In reply to this charge Governor Ames wrote General Grant that the
failure of the state convention to indorse his administration was simply an
oversight, and assured him that he had nowhere truer friends than in Missis-
sippi. Whether the failure of the convention in this respect was inadvertent
or not, the state executive committee, fearing to lose the support of the
national administration, made haste to adopt a resolution indorsing it, and
had it incorporated as a plank in their platform. Ibid. p. 152.
6 The only troops in the state at the time of the election were 100 at Vicks-
burg, and 120 at Jackson, and 200 at Holly Springs.
392 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
well afford to do the same. The Democratic press denounced
this language as "incendiary, and calculated to inflame the
passions of the blacks." 1
The Clarion of October 13 contained the following rallying
cry : "Democrats, Conservatives, old men and young men, black
and white, push onward the organized columns ! Advance our
glorious standard into the broken ranks of the plunderers and
follow them up with the proud symbol of redemption ! Onward!
Onward!" It announced that the funeral obsequies of the radi-
cal party would be conducted on the 3d of November, that the
Times and Pilot would be the chief mourners, and that General
George would deliver an appropriate address. In the issue
of October 20, it declared that the victory was already won,
and advised that if an attempt was made to throw out the
Democratic boxes, to hang the man that did it. The whites
were urged to keep the peace agreement, but to remember
their inalienable rights, and not forget that the price of
liberty is eternal vigilance. " Work night and day. Gather
at the polls by daylight, and stay until dark. Do not be
crowded away. For eight years you have had to stand back
and allow the radicals to vote first. Do not submit to stand
in the rear of a long line. If that game is tried, break the line.
See that your votes are counted and properly returned. Be pru-
dent and calm, but determined. Hang the registrar who pro-
poses to throw out a vote." The Times and the Pilot applied the
" incendiary " argument with some effectiveness to this advice.
The election took place November 3, and with a few excep-
tions passed off with unusual quietness ; in fact, it was about
the most peaceful election since the war. In many instances,
the negroes did not go to the polls. In others, they voted
with the Democrats. The Republicans charged that the
absence of the negroes from the polls was due to intimidation
and threats which they had received during the weeks prior
to the election, that they had been coerced by their employ-
ers, driven away from the polls, their meetings broken up,
and that in some counties they were forced to abandon the
struggle early in the campaign. There was more or less
interference with the Republican canvass in several of the
" black " counties, particularly in Warren, Hinds, Yazoo,
Holmes, Lowndes, Monroe, and Copiah. In a number of
instances, Republican meetings in these counties were broken
up by the whites, so that public discussion had to be aban-
doned to some extent several weeks before the election. It
1 Jackson Clarion, Oct. 13, 1875.
THE TRIUMPH OF THE DEMOCRACY 393
is also true that a number of local politicians, leaders of the
party, and club organizers, both black and white, were killed
during the weeks prior thereto.1 Others were overawed,
threatened, and compelled to make Democratic speeches.2
The whites claimed that they were morally justified in with-
holding employment from those who voted to inflict a cor-
rupt and ignorant government upon them, and did in many
cases use the power which they had as owners of the land
which the negroes cultivated, and of the cabins which they
tenanted, to control their votes. On Monday, before the
election, there appeared in the Aberdeen Examiner a pledge
signed by 190 prominent farmers and business men of Monroe
County to discriminate in making labor contracts against
those who should vote the Republican ticket ; that they
would discharge at least one-third of the more active politi-
cians, club leaders, and drummers ; that they would not
knowingly employ any one who had been discharged by any
signer of the pledge, or permit to live in their houses or on
their lands those who had been introduced into the county in
the interests of the radical party ; and that they would furnish
the county executive committee a list of those persons who
might have been refused labor on political grounds, to be en-
rolled in a book kept for the purpose, and which list was to be
printed in the Weekly Examiner as a standing advertisement for
the protection of the citizens. There were similar agreements
among the whites in Lowndes, Chickasaw, Colfax, Noxubee,
and other counties.3 They claimed to be simply pursuing
General Grant's policy as President in making appointments
to office, namely, to extend no favors to those who were not
1 One Republican witness puts the whole number of Republicans killed
during the canvass at three hundred. The number is, of course, exaggerated.
Report of Senate sub-committee, p. 979.
2 Caradine, a colored member of the legislature from Clay County, was
subjected to treatment of this kind. He says . " They told me that I would
have to go around and make some speeches for them ; they came by my
house and ' fetched ' a buggy for me. I got in and went along with them,
and made three speeches, but they did not appreciate them at length." Sen-
ator Price, the much hated "carpet bagger" of Grenada, had an experience
somewhat similar to Caradine's. See his testimony in the Boutwell Report.
3 The text of the above pledge is printed in Boutwell Report, II. p. 141.
Colonel Reynolds, at Buena Vista, September 4, declared that " whoever eats
the white man's bread must vote with the white man or refrain from voting
at all," and the immense applause with which the sentiment was greeted
showed that he had reached the heart of every auditor. The Aberdeen Exam-
iner said that this utterance was the keynote of the campaign. Judge Hous-
ton the following night spoke at the courthouse in Monroe County and declared
that the whites were justified in demanding the cooperation of the colored
voters in their effort to free themselves from a rule that was oppressive and
odious to every man who had an interest in the welfare of the state, and that
394 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
their friends.1 It must be said to the credit of General
George that he used his best efforts to secure a fair election.
The following telegram to Mr. Vertner of Claiborne County
was typical of many that he sent out : " Tell our people to
use every effort to secure a peaceful election and prevent
disorder. This must be done if possible, so far as we are
concerned. Faith must be kept in the peace agreement."
Again he telegraphed a prominent Democrat that full pro-
tection must be allowed all negroes who wished to vote.
"Be sure of this," he said. Upon receipt of information
that a movement was on foot to assassinate Mr. Warner, the
chairman of the Republican state executive committee, while
at the polls, he telegraphed Campbell and Calhoun, promi-
nent attorneys of Canton: "If Warner goes to Madison
Station, see by all means that he is not hurt. We are nearly
through now, and are sure to win. Don't let us have any
trouble of that sort on our hands."2
The exceptions to the general quiet of election day were
the disturbances in Claiborne, Kemper, A mite, Copiah, and
Clay counties. In Aberdeen, a cannon in charge of a half-
dozen men was alleged to have been trained on the voting-
place during the day, while a cavalry company, made up
largely of men from Alabama, paraded the streets. The
sheriff abandoned the polling-place and concealed himself in
the county jail. The fordways across the Tombigbee River,
the crossing-place of the negroes from the great black belt
on the east side, were guarded by squads the night before.
The whites claimed that their purpose was not to intimidate
the negroes, but to prevent them from seizing the state arms
in the jail and from massing at the polls.3 In Amite County,
the occurrences were highly discreditable to the whites.
The election inspectors were compelled to resign, a body of
if the negro would not assist them in redeeming the state from this terrible
incubus, he took the position of a covert, if not an avowed enemy, and was
entitled to no consideration at their hands. Aberdeen Examiner. Sept. 9,
1875.
* Testimony of H. A. Rice, Boutwell Report, p. 1193.
2 The following day General George received this answer, " Your telegram
last night saved A. Warner. G. A. JOHNSON."
8 The whites allege that it had been customary in all the elections since
the war for the negroes to mass themselves in an unbroken phalanx at the
polls for the purpose of preventing the Democrats from voting. The law per-
mitted any voter in the county to cast his vote at the county seat, although
the spirit of the law intended that they should vote in their respective pre-
cincts. Upon the advice of the Republican leaders, the negroes generally
went to the county seat where they might vote in a body with less likelihood
of being interfered with.
THE TRIUMPH OF THE DEMOCRACY 395
men from Louisiana invaded the county and drove the
negroes from the polls ; the sheriff, the county superintend-
ent of education, both "carpet baggers," together with the
United States deputy collector of internal revenue were
driven from the county, and the latter official was even pur-
sued beyond the limits of the county and was not able to
return to perform his duties until furnished with an escort of
United States troops.1 In Columbus, on the night before the
election, fires broke out about the same time in half a dozen
different places. The town was put under martial law, and
an ex-Confederate brigadier general assumed control by ap-
pointment from the mayor. He at once issued a proclama-
tion detailing a number of military companies to preserve
order. Four negroes were killed and three wounded. Each
side charged the other with having started the fire for politi-
cal purposes.
The election resulted in an overwhelming victory for the
Democrats. They carried the state by a majority of over
30,000, elected all the members of Congress except two, the
state treasurer, a majority of both Houses of the legislature,
and a majority of the local officers.2 Sixty-two of the 74
counties elected Democratic officials.3 In Kemper County
the Republicans polled only four votes ; in Yazoo, one of the
large black counties, with a negro majority of 2000, only
seven Republican votes were cast ; Hinds, with a Republican
majority equally as large, went Democratic by a majority of
1515, which was increased to 3026 in the presidential election
of 1876 ; Tishomingo polled only twelve Republican votes,
and the Republican vote in other counties was equally small.
In the presidential election of the following year, all the coun-
ties, except four, along the Mississippi River, went Democratic,
Lowndes and Yazoo, both Republican counties, casting only
two votes for Hayes and Wheeler. The announcement of the
result was the occasion of great rejoicing among the whites,
and they celebrated their " political emancipation " in various
ways. This election ended the rule of the " carpet bagger " in
1 Testimony of W. B. Redmond, Bout well Report.
2 For state treasurer, Hemmingway was elected over Buchanan ; for Con-
gress, Lamar of the first district had no opposition ; in the second district
Wells, Republican, was supported by the Democrats, and was elected over
Howe, the Ames candidate ; in the third district Money was elected over Ex-
Governor Powers ; in the fourth district Singleton defeated Niles ; in the fifth
district Hooker defeated Hill ; in the sixth the Democratic candidate, Seal,
was defeated by John R. Lynch, his majority being 231.
3 Among the counties that continued Republican were Oktibbeha, Noxu-
bee, Monroe, Jefferson, Issaquena, Tunica, Bolivar, and Adams.
396 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
Mississippi, and marks the beginning of a new era in the his-
tory of the state. It possessed many of the elements of a real
revolution. In regard to the Republican charge of intimida-
tion, it is undoubtedly true, as alleged, that intimidation was
successfully practised by the whites, but, in most cases, it
was resorted to before election day. There was a variety of
demonstrations during the days preceding the election, which
gave the negroes to understand that the whites were deter-
mined to carry the election at all hazards. This, no doubt,
kept many of them from the polls. Those, however, who
attempted to vote, with a few exceptions, were not disturbed.
It should also be said that there was intimidation on the other
side. Charles Nordhoff declared that it was a serious mistake
to suppose that intimidation was exclusively a Democratic
proceeding. " It has," he said, " been practised quite as
much, or even more, vigorously by Republicans, and the
negroes were the most savage intimidators of all." He said
he had visited communities where it would have cost a negro
his life to vote the Democratic ticket.1 Those of the negroes
who dared vote the Democratic ticket, lost standing in the
community, and were summarily dismissed from membership
in their social and religious organizations. Republicanism
was the sure test of orthodoxy, and the colored minister, the
most influential of his race in politics, warned his parishioners
of the consequences of party infidelity. In Madison County,
a colored minister was dismissed by his church for voting the
Democratic ticket.2 In spite of the party lash, however, they
voted with the whites, in many instances voluntarily, as it
appears, and colored men like Senator Revels, Ham Carter,
and other prominent leaders of the race came out openly on
the side of the whites.3 The Democrats made a strong appeal
1 €otton States, p. 11.
2 In regard to the dismissal of the colored preacher alluded to above, Mr.
Britton (colored) testified as follows before the Boutwell committee : Q. You
got rid of him after that ? A. Yes, sir. We were ready to jump him there
quicker than we did them Democrats, because he went back on us. Q.
You turned him right off ? A. Yes, sir. We would not let him come into
the church any more, would not let him go into the pulpit, and would not
hear him preach. Q. Because he voted that ticket ? A. Yes, sir. Boutwell
Report, p. 903. The Clarion printed a letter signed by four negroes, inform-
ing their representative in the legislature that if he acted with the Democratic
party they would hang him when he returned home, adding that they were
sworn to hang any man who betrayed them.
8 Testimony of H. R. Revels, Boutwell Report, p. 1015 ; letter of Ham
Carter to President Grant, supra. The Jackson Clarion of Sept. 22, 1875,
contains a long letter from the Rev. J. G. Johnson (colored), of Holly
Springs, advising his race to "join hands with the white people in redeeming
from the spoiler our common country." "Since you were free," he said,
" thu whites have been friends to you ; they have aided you when you were
THE TRIUMPH OF THE DEMOCRACY 397
to the colored voters, solemnly pledging their honor that if
they carried the election, the colored people should be secured
in the full enjoyment of their rights and privileges, that they
should not be discriminated against in the legislation adopted
by the party, that the public school system should be con-
tinued as before, and the education of the colored chil-
dren amply provided for. Editor Barksdale stated it as his
solemn conviction and firm belief that the colored people
wished a change of administration. He says he saw five hun-
dred negroes in a Democratic procession in Raymond, and a
similar spectacle in Jackson. Judge Watson says he noticed
a great change in the negroes, and that they went out by the
hundreds to hear Democratic speeches. There is little doubt
that some negroes, who had accumulated property, and who
were naturally opposed to the heavy taxes levied by the state
government, preferred to see a change of administration.
A more important reason for the overthrow of the Repub-
licans was the schism in their own ranks. The overwhelm-
ing election of Ames in 1873, the favorable auspices under
which he was inaugurated, and his promises of an economical
administration had done much to unite the party, but it was
alleged that within six months after the inauguration, the
governor had thrown off the better element of the party, and
allied himself with the worst class of colored Republicans and
"carpet baggers."1 The governor's course alienated many
of his own party leaders. He was charged with making an un-
dignified attack upon United States District Attorney Wells,
a Republican, and at the time a candidate for Congress.2 He
declared that United States Senator Pease, another Republi-
can leader, and like himself a " carpet bagger," was a traitor
to the party.3 Judge Stearns, another, was in his opinion cor-
in trouble, and when deach entered your households they have sympathized
with you." The same paper of October 13, published a letter from J. Allen
Ross, a negro ex-senator from Washington County, expressing similar
views.
1 Letter of J. S. Morris to W. W. Huntington, supra.
2 Correspondence of Governor Ames, 1875, pp. 22, 43. He wrote the
Attorney General to appoint Stone, Bliss, Whitrield, Niles, anybody except
Wells, who was a man without principle or honor, and whose assertions were
not worth the paper on which they were written. Letters of May 15 and 22.
Wells had assailed the administration for its alleged extravagance and cor-
ruption, and the failure of the governor to redeem his pledges made in the
inaugural address, and his course in the Vicksburg affair. Boutwell Report,
p. 1017. See Wells's letter in the Clarion of August 13, 1875.
3 Correspondence of 1874, p. 66. May 15 he writes Pease : " I quite agree
with you that ' carpet baggers ' should not fight each other — a correct prin-
ciple as a general one, but to go on the principle that no ' carpet bagger •
should be opposed, cannot hold."
398 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
rupt beyond doubt.1 Lieutenant Governor Davis had gone
over to the sore-heads.2 He broke with the Attorney General,
and never sought his advice on any point of law, nor accepted
it when offered voluntarily. He charged Alcorn with being
exceedingly corrupt.3 Not only was he opposed by many of
the Republican leaders of the state, but he failed to command
the support of the national administration. He could not get
troops, and his recommendations for Federal office were disre-
garded, and candidates appointed against whom he had urged
the most strenuous objections. In a letter of February 2, 1875,
he informed a correspondent that he had no influence at
Washington.4 The Attorney General, he said, doubted his
integrity, and held him responsible for the appointment of
corrupt, inefficient, and dishonest United States district
attorneys and marshals.5 " With one or two exceptions,"
said he, "the entire Mississippi delegation in Congress are
hostile to me, and my word goes for nothing, and I hesitate
to speak to them on any subject."6 The naked truth is, less
than a baker's dozen of the prominent Republican leaders who
had a substantial interest in the welfare of the state were sup-
porters of Governor Ames in the election of 1875.7 It should
be said, however, that the schism was confined more largely
to the ranks of the leaders of the party than to the common
voters, although in a number of counties the Republicans had
two tickets in the field, each as bitter against the other as they
were against the Democrats. Fights were almost as common
occurrences between the different wings of the Republican
party as between the Democrats and Republicans. A notable
instance of this kind was a political row in Holmes County
between a faction of the party led by Mr. Warren, a " carpet
bagger" and ex-Speaker of the House, and one led by Mr.
Holmes, with the result that two negro politicians were shot
1 Correspondence of 1875, letter of May 15.
2 Correspondence of 1874, p. 66.
8 Letter to Senator Conkling, Correspondence of 1875, May 22. He wrote
Conkling: "Be careful how you follow his [Alcorn's] leadership in levee
matters. We, especially the whites, believe him exceedingly corrupt."
* Correspondence of 1875, p. 183.
5 Ibid. pp. 40, 60.
6 Ibid. pp. 109, 183. Sept. 30, 1875, he wrote to President Grant begging
for the removal of Lake, United States marshal, and Wells, United States
district attorney. He said : " Such men with Pease embarrass us and give
heart to white liners. We pray you for some quick blow at such men. " Ibid.
p. 164. The prayer was not granted.
7 A prominent white Republican told the Boutwell committee that
the governor's policy and his association with corrupt men had disrupted the
party. " I do not know," he said, "any people more antagonistic than the
two wings of the party." Boutwell Report, p. 325.
THE TRIUMPH OF THE DEMOCRACY 399
and killed by a member of the governor's staff. He fled from
the state, and was never caught.1 Such occurrences made the
Democratic victory easy in many counties.
Four days after the election, ex-United States Senator
Revels wrote a long letter to the President, in which he gave
his views on the course of Governor Ames, and the reasons
for the defeat of the Republican party. The letter was widely
published at the time, and was the subject of not a little com-
ment throughout the Union.2
HOLLY SPRINGS, Miss., November 6, 1875.
To His EXCELLENCY, U. S. GRANT, President of the United States :
. . . Since reconstruction, the masses of my people have been, as
it were, enslaved in mind by unprincipled adventurers, who, car-
ing nothing for country, were willing to stoop to anything no mat-
ter how infamous, to secure power to themselves, and perpetuate
it. My people are naturally Republicans, and always will be, but
as they grow older in freedom so do they in wisdom. A great
portion of them have learned that they were being used as mere
tools, and, as in the late election, not being able to correct exist-
ing evils among themselves, they determined by casting their ballots
against these unprincipled adventurers, to overthrow them. . . .
My people have been told by these schemers, when men have been
placed on the ticket who were notoriously corrupt and dishonest,
that they must vote for them; that the salvation of the party
depended upon it ; that the man who scratched a ticket was not a
Republican. This is only one of the many means these unprinci-
pled demagogues have devised to perpetuate the intellectual bond-
age of my people. To defeat this policy, at the late election men,
irrespective of race, color, or party affiliation, united, and voted
together against men known to be incompetent and dishonest. I
cannot recognize, nor do the mass of my people who read, recog-
nize the majority of the officials who have been in power for the
past two years as Republicans. . . .
The great mass of the white people have abandoned their
hostility to the general government and Republican principles,
1 Testimony of Judge W. B. Cunningham, Boutwell Report, p. 844.
2 The letter was first published in the Jackson Daily Times in November,
1875. In June, 1876, Mr. Revels testified before the Boutwell committee, and
declared that he still stood by that letter. He said : '« I believed then, as I do
now, that certain imprudent men who called themselves Republicans had
broken our party down, and after the defeat they rushed to Washington and
were trying to mislead the President and throw the blame on the pure Repub-
lican party and the innocent old white Republicans, both of whom I felt it
my duty as a Christian man to defend." In this connection it is but fair to
state that Mr. Revels was likely prompted in some degree by personal preju-
dice, the governor having removed him from the presidency of Alcorn Uni-
versity.
400 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
and to-day accept as a fact that all men are born free and equal,
and I believe are ready to guarantee to my people every right and
privilege guaranteed to an American citizen. The bitterness and
hate created by the late civil strife has, in my opinion, been
obliterated in this state, except perhaps in some localities, and
would have long since been entirely obliterated, were it not for
some unprincipled men who would keep alive the bitterness of the
past, and inculcate a hatred between the races, in order that they
may aggrandize themselves by office, and its emoluments, to con-
trol my people, the effect of which is to degrade them. As an evi-
dence that party lines in this state have been obliterated, men
were supported without regard to their party affiliations, their
birth, or their color, by those who heretofore have acted with the
Democratic party, by this course giving an evidence of their sin-
cerity that they have abandoned the political issues of the past,
and were only desirous of inaugurating an honest state govern-
ment, and restoring a mutual confidence between the races. I
give you my opinion, that had our state adhered to Republican
principles, and stood by the platform upon which it was elected,
the state to-day would have been upon the highway of prosperity.
Peace would have prevailed within her borders, and the Republi-
can party would have embraced within her folds thousands of
the best and purest citizens of which Mississippi can boast,
and the election just passed would have been a Republican
victory of not less than eighty to a hundred thousand major-
ity ; but the dishonest course which has been pursued has forced
into silence and retirement nearly all of the leading Republi-
cans who organized, and have heretofore led the party to victory.
A few who have been bold enough to stand by Republican princi-
ple, and condemn dishonesty, corruption, and incompetency have
been supported and elected by overwhelming majorities. If the
state administration had adhered to Republican principles, ad-
vanced patriotic measures, appointed only honest and competent
men to office, and sought to restore confidence between the races,
bloodshed would have been unknown, peace would have prevailed,
Federal interference been unthought of; harmony, friendship,
and mutual confidence would have taken the place of the
bayonet. . . .
H. R. REVELS.
Other notable letters written to the President by prominent
Republicans shortly after the election, and which, like that of
Senator Revels's, received much attention at the time, were
those of Attorney General Harris and Ham Carter. In each
of these letters, the responsibility for the Republican defeat
was placed upon Governor Ames. No Democrat ever ar-
raigned his administration with such severity as did these three
Republicans, two of whom were colored men. Ex- Attorney
THE IMPEACHMENT OF STATE OFFICIALS 401
General Morris, about the same time, published a long letter
in the New York Herald, in which he criticised in unmeasured
terms the course of Governor Ames, and like the others,
endeavored to make it appear that Ames alone was responsi-
ble for their overthrow.1 For some weeks after the election,
it was the fashion for Republicans of the anti-Ames persua-
sion to write letters North, for the purpose of informing
prominent Republicans that Governor Aines had killed the
party in Mississippi.
V. THE IMPEACHMENT OF STATE OFFICIALS
It was generally understood by the Republicans that in
the event of their success, Governor Ames was to be trans-
ferred to the United States Senate ; the understanding among
the Democrats was that if they secured the legislature, he
was to be impeached and removed from office, along with cer-
tain other state officials, notably the lieutenant governor and
the superintendent of education. Soon after the result of
the election was known, the Clarion took strong ground in
favor of impeachment.2 The governor was fully expecting
this, and had expressed a desire to resign the day before the
election, and again the day after the results were known, but
General George, Editor Barksdale, and a few other white
leaders, horrified at the prospect of a negro governor, are
said to have implored him to withhold his resignation,
assuring him that there was no objection to him personally,
but only to some of his advisers and counsellors.3 On De-
cember 17, he wrote to a friend that he did not expect to
make any more appointments until the question of impeach-
ment was settled. Again he wrote to H. W. Lewis of Co-
lumbus, December 27 : " Should I appoint the tax collectors,4
Mr. George or some one else would issue a proclamation
forbidding payment of taxes. I am rather expecting im-
peachment. A party that will secure one branch of the
1 Harris's letter is printed in Report Senate sub-committee, p.- 590, and
is dated November 24 ; Carter's, in the Boutwell Report, p. 1083, and is dated
November 15, and Morris's, in the Boutwell Report, p. 1081, dated Novem-
ber 23. Revels's letter is printed in the Boutwell Report, p. 1019, and in the
Report of the Senate sub-committee, p. 595.
2 In the issue of November 24, it demanded that Ames be removed from
the governorship, and forever disqualified from holding office in the future.
8 Testimony of C. K. Chase, Boutwell Report, supra.
* This was in pursuance of the law creating a new set of afficials to collect
taxes.
402 BECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
government by fraud, intimidation, and murder will not
hesitate to vote themselves into possession of all the other
branches." l On the same day, he wrote to another friend,
" You are doubtless aware that the revolution is to be com-
pleted by the Democrats voting themselves into all the other
offices." 2 February 15, he wrote Colonel Bolton of Green-
ville : " Impeachment is progressing, and my Winchester-rifle
friends will vote me out." 3 On the same day, he wrote to
James G. Elaine : " I think they will go on with my impeach-
ment. A Republican and an ex-Union soldier cannot live in
the South. His position is similar to what would have been
that of an abolitionist here in the days of slavery, or a Union
soldier at Anderson ville during the war. Our late election
was a revolution. By it the legislature was gained. This
is not a republican form of government."4 March 7, he
wrote Charles Carlton of New York : 5 " Of course a Republi-
can and an ex-Union soldier has no more consideration or
justice here under Democratic Winchester-rifle rule than the
Union prisoner had at Anderson ville. Nothing is charged
beyond political sins ; of course, with them that is a sin
which to Republicans is of the highest virtue. Their object
is to restore the Confederacy and reduce the colored people
to a state of serfdom. I am in their way, consequently they
impeach me, which done, Jeff Davis will be restored to his
former supremacy in this part of his former kingdom." 6
The legislature chosen in the November election assembled
at Jackson January 4, 1876. The legislature was composed
of thirty-seven senators and one hundred and sixteen repre-
sentatives. Of the senators, twenty-six were conservatives
and eleven Republicans, five of whom were colored. Of the
representatives, ninety-seven were conservatives, all but two
calling themselves Democrats. There were nineteen Re-
publicans, of whom sixteen were colored. There was one
colored Democrat and three colored independent Republi-
cans. All the colored Republicans in this legislature, how-
ever, usually acted with their white colleagues when they
had such, as was the case in Noxubee, Oktibbeha, and Wash-
ington. There was one Democratic " carpet bagger " and one
Republican " carpet bagger " in the Senate, and three or four
in the House. The Boutwell committee reported to Congress
that if there had been a free election, there would have been
sixty-six Republicans to fifty Democrats in the House, and
1 Correspondence of 1875, p. 183. 4 Ibid. p. 240.
2 Ibid. p. 186. 6 ibid. p. 270.
• Ibid. p. 253. e Ibid. p. 270.
THE IMPEACHMENT OF STATE OFFICIALS 403
twenty-six Republicans to eleven Democrats in the Senate,
consequently the legislature was not a legal body, and its
acts not entitled to recognition by the political department
of the United States, although the President might, in his
discretion, recognize it as a government de facto for the pres-
ervation of the public peace.* In point of ability, this legis-
lature will compare favorably with any in the history of the
state. The executive committee had urged the people in the
late contest to nominate for office the best men who would
consent to serve. This advice was followed, and as a result,
a number of the most prominent men in the state were
elected.
In his last annual message, that of January 4, Governor
Ames declared that the legislature was an illegal body, and
that the late election had been carried by fraud and violence.
The legislature resented the charge, declared that the gov-
ernor was not giving them information of the state of the
government as required by the constitution, and that his
message " was calculated, if not intended, to impair that good
feeling which had been established between the people of
the North and those of the South." That body accordingly
passed a long resolution "repelling his insinuations, and
respectfully returning his communication with the statement
that they would be pleased to receive from him information
of the state of the government, together with recommenda-
tions of such measures as he might deem necessary and
expedient, as provided by the constitution."2
A day or two after this incident General Featherston, a
representative from Holly Springs, offered a resolution that
a committee of five be appointed by the speaker to inquire
into the official conduct of " acting Governor " Ames, and
report to the House whether there were good reasons for his
impeachment. After striking out the word " acting " the
resolution was adopted.3 The committee made a thorough
1 Boutwell Report, p. 28. Many of the Republican members seem to have
regarded the legislature as an illegal body, -although they continued to sit in
it and draw their per diem. They refused to vote on questions relating to
the impeachment of Governor Ames, and at a caucus held January 17, they
declared Mr. Warner as their choice for United States Senator, but deemed
it unwise to cast their votes for him because they believed the legislature an
illegal and revolutionary body. Correspondence of 1876, p. 210.
2 Jackson Pilot, Jan. 5 and 6, 1876.
8 The members of the committee were W. S. Featherston, H. L. Muldrow,
W. A. Percy, W. F. Tucker, Fred Parsons (Rep.). Although the Republi-
cans had but one representative on the committee, he testified that no evi-
dence of unfairness was manifested by the majority, and expressed his thanks
for the uniform courtesy which he received. Impeachment Testimony, p. 7.
404 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
investigation, extending through a period of thirty-eight days,
from three to five hours per day. Forty-five witnesses were
examined, twenty-six being classified as Republicans and
nineteen as Democrats. Five volumes of testimony were
taken. On February 22, the committee reported a resolution
in favor of the impeachment and removal of the governor
for official misconduct on eleven separate and distinct charges.
March 2, twenty-one articles of impeachment were exhibited
by the managers. The pardon of Alexander Smith on
March 11, already alluded to, led to the addition of two
more articles, making twenty-three in all. The first twenty-
one articles were adopted by a vote of seventy-one to eight,
thirty-seven members, all Republicans, being absent and not
voting. The last two articles were adopted by a vote of
fifty-eight to nine, forty-nine members being absent.1
In the meantime the lieutenant governor and the superin-
tendent of education were being disposed of. On the 14th
of February, a resolution directing that articles of impeach-
ment be prepared against Davis was adopted, and managers
appointed to conduct the case before the Senate as a court
of impeachment. Ten colored members voted in favor of
the impeachment charges. The principal charge against him
was accepting a bribe while acting-governor in June, 1875,
for granting a pardon to Thomas Barrentine, convicted of
the murder of Ann Thomas in Lowndes County. He
attempted to resign, but the Senate proceeded with the trial.
His trial ended on the 13th of March, resulting in his convic-
tion by a vote of thirty-two to four, six Republicans, one of
whom was a negro, voting for his conviction. The Jackson
Times (Republican) said: "It must be admitted by fair-
minded and unprejudiced Republicans that the verdict ren-
dered was, under the circumstances, just and proper."
On the 16th of February, a resolution directing the impeach-
ment of Cordoza was adopted. The resolution was supported
by eleven Republicans, eight being colored. It charged him
with official malfeasance in twelve instances. They were as
follows : for retaining money belonging to the state, received
by him when clerk of the circuit court of Warren County for
lands forfeited for non-payment of taxes ; for converting to
his own use funds of Tougaloo University while treasurer of
that institution ; for obtaining money from the state for un-
necessary books for the public schools, a portion of which
was for his own benefit ; and with proposing to another to
1 Impeachment Testimony, pp. 48, 60.
THE IMPEACHMENT OF STATE OFFICIALS 405
divide and convert to their own use a portion of the school-
teacher's fund of Warren County. While the impeachment
was still pending, he asked permission to resign and have the
proceedings dismissed. This request was granted, and on the
22d of February, his resignation was accepted by the House
by an almost unanimous vote.
On March 16, the chief justice entered the bar of the
Senate, assumed the presidency of the court, and administered
the oath to senators. The managers of the impeachment
reported the articles, and the trial of Governor Ames pro-
ceeded.1 He had employed able legal counsel, among whom
were Roger A. Pryor of New York City, and Michael Clancy
and Thomas Durant of Washington, the latter formerly a
member of the New Orleans bar.2 On the second day, the
governor appeared through his counsel and asked for a rea-
sonable length of time for the preparation of his answer to
the articles of impeachment. He was given five days, in ac-
cordance with his wishes, and the trial set for March 28. On
Wednesday, March 22, the court of impeachment met for the
third time, when the answer and pleas of the governor were
filed.
A week later the governor's counsel addressed him the
following communication : —
JACKSON, Miss., March 28, 1876.
To His EXCELLENCY, ADELBERT AMES, Governor of Mississippi :
The fact disclosed to us to-day, that before proceedings of im-
peachment were begun against you, you had resolved to resign
your office, has led us to consider whether your purpose might
not be resumed and carried out without any sacrifice of your honor
1 After articles of impeachment had been preferred, Chief Justice Peyton
being required to preside, the legislature passed a resolution asking him to
resign his position as chief justice until the "emergency " had passed, when
he could be reflected by his brethren. He accordingly did so, and Justice
Simrall was elected in his place, and presided over the impeachment trial.
The reason assigned by the Democrats for this somewhat novel proceeding
was the extreme ill-health of the venerable chief justice, and the little per-
sonal difficulty he had had with the governor. The Republicans made capital
out of this, alleging that it was on account of Simrall's politics that his par-
ticipation in the trial was desired. This was tampering with the judiciary,
they insisted, one of the things for which the Democrats were impeaching
the governor. As Simrall was an appointee of Alcorn, and supposed to be a
Republican, and as the chief justice was really incapacitated (he died a few
months afterward), it does not appear that the Republican charge was well
founded. See Laws of 1876, p. 126 ; Testimony of George E. Harris, Report
Senate sub-committee, pp. 817, 819.
2 He had expected Judge Jeremiah Black of Pennsylvania, but failed to
secure him.
406 KECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
and dignity. Appreciating the sensibility which restrains you
from resigning while charges are pending against you, we are
nevertheless, clearly of the opinion that in the event the charges
are withdrawn, you may retire without the least compromise of
your reputation.
An examination of all the evidence adduced against you satis-
fies us that your acquittal would be the result of a thorough and
impartial trial ; but when we contemplate the expense you must
incur in procuring the attendance of the hundreds of witnesses
whom it will be necessary to summon from various parts of the
state, we do not see why you should suffer so great a sacrifice,
when your vindication may be accomplished by a withdrawal of
the charges. Awaiting your reply to the suggestion hereby con-
veyed, we have the honor to be
Your Excellency's obedient servants,
THOS. J. DURANT.
ROGER A. PRYOR.
The governor at once replied to the suggestion of his coun-
sel as follows : —
EXECUTIVE MANSION, JACKSON, Miss., March 28, 1876.
GENTLEMEN : In regard to your suggestion, I beg leave to say
that, in consequence of the election of last November, I found
myself confronted with a hostile legislature, and embarrassed and
baffled in my endeavors to carry out my plans for the welfare of
the state and of my party. I had resolved, therefore, to resign
my office as governor of the state of Mississippi. But, meanwhile,
proceedings of impeachment were instituted against me, and, of
course, I could not and would not retire from my position under
the imputation of any charge affecting my honor or integrity. For
the reasons indicated, I still desire to escape burdens which are
compensated by no possibility of public usefulness ; and if the arti-
cles of impeachment presented against me were not pending, and
the proceedings were dismissed, I should feel at liberty to carry
out my desire and purpose of resignation. I am very truly yours,
(Signed) ADELBERT AMES.
To Messrs. DURANT AND PRYOR, Jackson, Miss.
The House at once adopted a resolution by a vote of
seventy-eight to ten, directing the managers to dismiss the
articles of impeachment against the governor.1 Thereupon
the Senate adopted a resolution by a vote of twenty-six to
three, dismissing the charges.2 On the same day the governor
sent the following brief message to the legislature : —
1 Impeachment Testimony, p. 51.
2 Impeachment Trial, p. 60.
THE IMPEACHMENT OF STATE OFFICIALS 407
EXECUTIVE OFFICE, JACKSON, Miss., Mar. 29, 1876.
To THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI :
I hereby respectfully resign my office of governor of
Mississippi.
(Signed) ADELBERT AMES.1
This closed his eventful career in Mississippi. He might
have avoided this humiliation had he been a prophet, aban-
doned the office to the lieutenant governor, and, like Alcorn,
accepted a seat in the Senate. " It was," he says, " my hope
that after an indorsement of the people by election as gov-
ernor, I could exchange the office for a seat in the Senate.
But unfortunately for my aspirations the lieutenant governor
was a colored man. Of those who came to me and begged
me to remain in the governor's chair, none were more earnest
than my political opponents, who said, 4 a negro governor will
humiliate and disgrace the state, and destroy its prosperity.'
I made the sacrifice ; whether it was meritorious depends on
one's point of view."
Shortly after tendering his resignation, Governor Ames left
the state, and has resided in the North ever since. While in
Washington, he testified before the Boutwell committee rela-
tive to affairs in Mississippi. In regard to the charge that
he constantly appealed to the prejudices of the negro against
the white man, and through ambitious motives sought to pre-
vent harmony between the races, he is quoted as saying:
" When I first went to Mississippi, nine years ago, my duties
brought me into constant intercourse with the whites, and I
adopted their version of the condition of affairs without in-
vestigation, and sympathized with them. It was only when
the trials over which I presided [military trials] revealed
the fact that their conduct toward the negro was almost uni-
versally characterized by an utter disregard of their rights as
citizens, that I was forced to become, if you may call me so,
their champion. Since then I have always taken a very
prominent part in Mississippi politics. I have made hun-
dreds of speeches, and yet no man can point out a single line
1 Hon. Roger A. Pryor in a letter to General Benjamin F. Butler, father-
in-law of Governor Ames, thus describes how an agreement was reached :
" Accordingly, I opened negotiations with the leading men against us, with
many of whom I had had old and intimate associations, and after a strenuous
struggle it was arranged that they should dismiss the charges, and that the
governor should resign. This plan was carried out without any reflection on
the governor's character. Indeed, he stands better to-day in the estimation
of his enemies than ever before. Throughout the trying cri3is he bore him-
self as a brave and honorable gentleman.''
408 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
I have written or sentence I have spoken calculated to arouse
a hostility of race. On the contrary, I have used all my
influence, both personal and official, to produce a sentiment
of harmony, on the basis of exact and equal justice."
The cause of Governor Ames's downfall in Mississippi is not
difficult to discover. His political opponents testify to his per-
sonal integrity, courteous demeanor, and his education and re-
finement. No well-informed Democratic politician ever accused
him of peculation or plunder. The unanimous testimony is
that his failure was due to the circumstances surrounding his
advent into Mississippi. His education, his connection with
the war, and his surroundings were such as to give him, if
not a prejudice against, at least a strong suspicion of the
Southern whites, and an over-confidence in the mental and
moral ability of the black race, so far as their ability to gov-
ern themselves was concerned. He did not know then that
a superior race will not submit to the government of an
inferior one.1 He went to Mississippi wearing the uniform
of a Union soldier, at a time when the people were impov-
erished and the land desolate from the ravages of war. The
people were filled with strong passions and prejudices, and so
was General Ames. The times were ill fitted for the estab-
lishment of cordial relations between the conquerors and the
conquered. In the discharge of his official duties, he enforced
the Congressional policy with perhaps more severity than the
spirit of the law required, though this is doubtful. The cir-
cumstances under which he abandoned the army to accept a
high civil office cost him much of his popularity. His prefer-
ence for colored men and Northern Republicans in the forma-
tion of his official relations cost him the confidence of the
substantial citizenship of the state, namely, the property-
owning class. His failure properly to appreciate real con-
ditions, in the direction of his policy, intensified race feeling,
led to violent outbreaks, and ultimately to revolution. His
mistakes were for the most part errors of judgment.
Shortly after the occurrence of the events related above, a
congressional committee visited Mississippi to investigate
political affairs in general and the late election in particular.
On December 15, Senator Morton had offered a resolution
for the appointment of such a committee, and he supported
his resolution in a series of speeches in which he bitterly
denounced the methods which the Democrats had employed
1 This is an acknowledgment which he has recently made in a letter to the
author.
THE IMPEACHMENT OF STATE OFFICIALS 409
in the late election, and declared that it had been carried by
fraud and intimidation. The resolution slept until the 29th
of March, when it was taken up, again debated, and passed
March 31. The political complexion of the House at this
time was such that the Senate did not desire an investigation
by a joint committee, but wished it to be exclusively a sena-
torial affair. The committee was appointed, and the investi-
gation began April 27.1 The appointment of Senator Bout-
well, a man of somewhat rabid views on Southern questions,
and the quality of whose mind entirely unfitted him for the
work of reconciliation, as chairman of the committee, vir-
tually determined the character of the investigation and the
report.2 The report of the committee was the principal
event in Congress during the first week of August, 1876. It
embraces with the testimony two mammoth volumes of over
two thousand printed pages. As was to be expected, two
reports were made. The report of the majority declared that
the testimony indicated that fraud and intimidation were
generally and successfully practised in the canvass ; that the
allegation of unfitness against Governor Ames was unfounded ;
that he was not amenable to any just charges affecting his
personal integrity, his character as a public officer, or his
ability; that many of the officials in Mississippi were inca-
pable and dishonest, but they were not approved by the gov-
ernor or the great mass of the Republican party ; and that a
small number of newcomers had misused the confidence of
the negro, secured office, and betrayed the trust confided to
them. The report endeavored to explain the reason for the
increased taxation and expenditures of the state government
by saying that they were far less than in some of the North-
ern states ; declared the legislature recently chosen was an
illegal body ; and that Ames, whose resignation had in the
meantime been extorted by the said body calling themselves
the legislature, was of right the governor of the state. They
made three recommendations to Congress : first, that the
state might be denied representation in Congress ; second, the
1 The members were George S. Boutwell, Massachusetts, chairman ; An-
gus Cameron, Wisconsin ; S. J. R. Miller, Minnesota ; Thomas F. Bayard,
Delaware ; James E. McDonald, Indiana. Senator Oglesby of Illinois was
first appointed a member, but was excused. McMillan took his place.
Messrs. Bayard and McDonald were the Democratic representatives of the
committee.
2 The committee first held a twenty days' session in Washington, taking
testimony. It then visited Mississippi, and took testimony for fourteen days
at Jackson, beginning June 9 ; and two days at Aberdeen. The whole num-
ber of witnesses examined was one hundred and sixty-two.
410 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
enactment of laws for the protection of the rights of citizens ;
third, if the disorder increased and mild means proved
ineffectual, the state should be remanded to a territorial form
of government, and through a system of education and kin-
dred means of improvement change the ideas of the inhabit-
ants and reconstruct the government upon a republican
basis.1 " A wicked and imbecile report," said the New York
Nation.2 " The Massachusetts legislature must see that Bout-
well has done his full duty to the American republic, and
that it can spare him for a period of seclusion and medita-
tion."8 The almost pathetic appeals of Governor Ames for
troops have already been described. The President refused to
interfere. The state went Democratic. The President on
July 26, more than a week before the appearance of the Bout-
well report, wrote to Governor Chamberlain of South Carolina
confiding to him that "Mississippi is governed to-day by
officials chosen through fraud and violence such as would
scarcely be credited to savages, much less to a civilized
and Christian people." 4 On July 31, six days later, in his
annual message to Congress, he says the report on Mississippi
had riot been made public, " but perhaps it will sustain my
allegations." 5 His anticipation of the report can hardly be
construed in any other light than evidence of prejudice
against the Southern people. Most of the allegations in the
majority report were denied by the minority. Both the
reports are strongly tinged with partisanship for the evident
purpose of influencing the presidential election.
VI. COMPLETION OF THE EEVOLUTION
The work of turning out Republicans did not end with the
removal of the governor, lieutenant governor, and superin-
tendent of education. Although there were no more im-
peachments, many offices and agencies — sinecures, as the
Democrats called them — were abolished either directly or
indirectly. One of the first of these officials to feel the
effects of the revolution was the colored commissioner of
1 Boutwell Report, p. 29. 2 Aug. 10, 1876. « Aug. 17, 1876.
4 Boutwell Report (minority). The Nation, speaking of this somewhat
extravagant statement of President Grant, said rather sarcastically : " If he
knows this now, he must have apprehended it then, and his refusal to inter-
fere must be characterized as an act which would scarcely be accredited to
savages, much less to the President of a civilized and Christian people."
Aug. 10, 1876.
6 Richardson, Messages and Papers of the Presidents, Vol. VII. p. 376.
COMPLETION OF THE REVOLUTION 411
immigration. His salary was reduced from f 2000 a year to
$ 100, and he was requested to provide himself with an office
at his own expense, unless he could find a vacant room in the
state house. The special agents to look up shortages
among county treasurers and tax collectors were next legis-
lated out of office. This was followed by the abolition of
the state board of equalization ; the office of cotton weigher ;
the office of postmaster of the two Houses ; and the office of
liquidating levee commissioner. The number of chancellors
and circuit judges was largely reduced. An amendment to
the constitution for the abolition of the office of lieutenant
governor was proposed, and boards of supervisors were forbid-
den to employ counsel at stated salaries.
The Gatling Gun Bill was repealed, and the militia was
paralyzed by the reduction of the pay of its officers, when in
actual service, to five cents per day. The compensation of
all state officers, members of the legislature, and judges and
chancellors was reduced in amount, and the purposes for
which the executive contingent fund could be drawn upon
were specified with the minutest detail. None of it could be
spent on the governor's house, except where the building
would be damaged by neglect. The state treasurer was
made custodian of the funds belonging to all state educa-
tional and charitable institutions. The fees of the public
Erinter were reduced so that the cost of the state printing
ill from 850,803, in 1875, to $22,295, in 1876. The district
printing law was repealed, and with it passed away the sub-
sidized Republican press. Payment for printing the pro-
ceedings of the legislature in daily newspapers was forbidden.
The number of employees about the legislature, such as
messengers, pages, porters, clerks, night watchmen, etc., was
reduced. Their pay was proportionately decreased. The
per diem of trustees of state institutions was abolished, and
provision made for the payment of only their actual expenses
while travelling to and from the places of meeting. All
county officers were required to furnish their own stationery,
and provisions were enacted to secure a more sufficient guar-
antee for the safe keeping of public funds. The penitentiary
was made self-supporting by a lease for a goodly sum. It
was alleged that this measure meant a saving of $75,000
annually. An economical registration law was enacted, and
its meaning was made sufficiently clear to obviate any more
extraordinary sessions of the legislature. An amendment to
the constitution was proposed, the purpose of which was to
secure biennial sessions of the legislature. A new school
412 BECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
law was enacted, and its administration simplified, and the
expense reduced. In 1874, the amount appropriated for the
state superintendent's office was $17,816; in 1876, the amount
was $4195. The average salary of teachers was reduced to
$39.87 per month. Fellowships in the state university were
abolished. The special school tax of four mills on the dollar
was abolished, and a fund derived from the sale of public
lands, licenses, etc., was established. The Democrats kept
their promises to the negroes, and guaranteed an annual
school term of four months in every county.
The state tax was reduced from 9^ to 6J mills on the
dollar. It was still further reduced the following year.
Other measures provided : for the reorganization of the
judicial districts ; for the reorganization of the congressional
districts ; 1 for the revision of the criminal code ; for funding
the floating debt; for the cancellation of $185,000 of state
warrants ; for securing the prompt payment of fines collected
by justices of the peace ; for securing the agricultural land
scrip fund ; for requiring boards of supervisors to ascertain the
outstanding indebtedness in their respective counties; for
the appointment of an agent to investigate funds and collect
revenues due to the state, counties, and levee boards ; an act
for granting relief to the tax payers by extending the time
for payment of taxes; and for a sweeping reform of the
whole financial and administrative system.
One cannot fail to see in this legislation the signs of a
revolution. The legislature of 1876, the first of its kind
after the inauguration of the reconstruction policy, evidently
proceeded on the belief that the work of the " carpet baggers "
was unworthy to stand. The majority of the Democratic
members honestly believed that much official corruption
existed in the administration of the state government when
they took hold. The most searching investigation was insti-
tuted in every department, with the confident expectation of
unearthing numerous frauds.2 The legislature continued in
session until April 15, a period of three and a half months,
endeavoring to wipe out every trace of the old regime, and to
1 A feature of this law was the celebrated gerrymander known as the
" shoe-string " district. It included all the counties on the Mississippi River,
from Tennessee to Louisiana, being nearly three- hundred miles in length, and
not more than twenty wide in some places. The purpose of the law is well
known.
2 The Jackson Pilot is authority for the statement that at one time thirty-
one investigations were being conducted by the legislature. The sum of
$500 was appropriated for the purpose of facilitating these investigations.
Laws of 1876, p. 43.
COMPLETION OF THE REVOLUTION 413
restore the government to a " systematic and economical "
basis. Judged from the standpoint of its legislation alone,
it deserves to be ranked as one of the most important in the
history of the state. There is little doubt that most of its
legislation was wholesome and wise — certainly it was econom-
ical — and it had the result of restoring the confidence of the
people in the government. This is shown in the almost
immediate appreciation of the state securities. State war-
rants, which in January, 1875, were sold at seventy-three cents
on the dollar, rose during the session of the legislature to
seventy-five cents, and before the end of the year they were
only one cent below par.1
The retirement of Chief Justice Peyton and Justice Tarbell
from the Supreme Court, with the appointment of Democratic
successors, and the return of a solid Democratic delegation to
Congress in November, 1876, completed the revolution. In
July of the following year, the Republican executive com-
mittee adopted a resolution formally dissolving the party in
the state. That a political party claiming a majority of
30,000 should thus quietly disband, would be considered an
astounding occurrence, were it not for the fact that it no
longer had a reason for prolonging its existence.
While the legislature was removing the " carpet baggers"
from office and repealing the laws which they had enacted,
many of them were preparing to emigrate. There was no
longer any likelihood that they would ever again get posses-
sion of the offices, and as some of them were in bad standing
among the native whites, there seemed to be little encourage-
ment for them to remain. During the year 1876, a large
majority of those who had at one time or other held office
moved away. A comparatively small proportion of them had
acquired real estate in Mississippi, and hence they were not
beset by any serious difficulties in transferring their domicile
to other states. Of those who were prominent in the poli-
tics of the state, less than half a dozen remained. They were
good citizens, and were highly respected by the native whites
among whom they lived.2
1 Appleton's Annual Cyclopaedia, 1876, p. 563.
2 Of the Northern men who became prominent in Mississippi politics dur-
ing the reconstruction period, the following are survivors at the present
writing, May, 1901 : —
Ex-Governor Ames, Lowell, Massachusetts ; Ex-Governor Powers, Phoe-
nix, Arizona ; Ex-United States Senator Pease, Watertown, North Dakota ;
Ex-United States District Attorney G. W. Wells, Los Angeles, California ;
Hon. Legrand W. Perce, ex-member of Congress, Chicago ; Judge W. B.
Cunningham, Chicago ; Hon. Alexander Warner, Salisbury, Maryland ;
414 RECONSTRUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI
A number of those who emigrated succeeded in getting
government positions at Washington. Several local colored
politicians, who were alleged to have been outlawed, were
taken under the care of the administration and were appointed
watchmen about the Capital.1
It is difficult to form a correct estimate of the character of
the Mississippi "carpet baggers " as a class. It can perhaps
be said that as a class they were superior in character to the
44 carpet baggers " in South Carolina and Louisiana. It can
also probably be said that many of them were men of per-
sonal honesty and integrity. But these had to bear the
odium of those who came to the state for the purpose of
peculation and plunder. The charge sometimes made that
they were all thieves and plunderers has no foundation in
fact. At the same time, it is undoubtedly true that as a class
they were not animated by that spirit of economy which
every consideration of propriety and justice plainly dictated
as a policy of expediency. They unnecessarily multiplied
the burdens of the people, did not exhibit an over-delicacy in
their desire for the emoluments of office, and by their alliance
with the colored race against the native whites finally brought
on revolution. This was the final fruition of the congressional
policy of reconstruction.
Hon. H. T. Fisher and Hon. C. W. Loomis, Cleveland, Ohio ; Colonel A. T.
Morgan, Silverton, Colorado ; Hon. O. C. French, Hayden, Colorado ; Gen-
eral Charles E. Furlong, New York City. The number of genuine ** carpet
baggers " in Mississippi was never very large. In some counties there were
none. In few did the number exceed a dozen. But as they generally held
office, or were prominent in the politics of their respective communities as
organizers of the freedmen, the impression conveyed was that they almost
outnumbered the native whites. In 1870, there were 1610 persons living in
Mississippi who had emigrated there from the Northern states since 1860.
Of these, more than 1000 were from Illinois and Ohio. As this includes the
women and children, and those who did not go South to get office, it is rea-
sonable to suppose that the number of real carpet baggers in the state in 1870
did not much exceed 1000.
1 Relative to the movement of the "carpet baggers" upon Washington,
the Jackson Times (Republican), said : " The recent political earthquake in
Mississippi left many Republicans who had labored faithfully and with self-
sacrificing zeal for the party, without position, and with means exhausted.
These have naturally flocked to Washington to ask of the administration
assistance in the hour of our undeserved defeat and disaster."
INDEX
Abandoned property seized and leased,
250-263.
Abolition of slavery in Mississippi, 86-
90.
Acts, in aid of the Confederacy, 64, 66,
67.
Acts, reconstruction, 156.
Administration of civil government dur-
ing the war, 35, 38, 69.
Admission of negro testimony to the
courts, 94, 110, 111.
Alcorn, J. L., accepts reconstruction,
180.
nominated for governor, 243.
meets Dent in debate, 244.
elected governor, 246.
appointed governor by General Ames,
247, 248.
elected United States senator, 271.
inaugurated governor, 277.
resigns, 280.
denounces Senator Ames, 291.
favors free schools, 355, 365.
participates in Friar's Point riot, 377
Alcorn university, 369.
Alien enemies, treatment of, during the
war, 27
Amendment, Thirteenth and Four-
teenth, rejected, 120, 121.
ratified, 271.
Ames, Adelbert, appointed provisional
governor, 214.
ejects Humphreys, 21u, 216.
appointed district commander, 228.
assumes command, 229.
powers of, 229, 230.
removals and appointments, 1869,
231-233.
policy criticised, 233, 234.
order relative to jurors, 234.
trials by military commissions, 236.
appoints Alcorn governor, 247.
elected United States senator, 271.
debate on credentials, 274-276.
sworn in, 277.
career in senate, 290, 291.
elected civil governor, 292.
inaugurated governor, 294.
message on finances, 296.
pardons granted, 299.
course relative to judiciary, 299 et seq.
contingent expenses of, 318.
statement of the public debt, 320.
calls for troops, 330, 380, 381, 390, 391.
calls legislature together, 335.
policy criticised, 336, 399, 400.
proclamation, 379.
organizes the militia, 382-386.
enters into peace agreement, 387-389.
suggestions of impeachment, 401, 402.
criticises legislature, 403.
resolutions of impeachment, 404.
resigns, 407.
leaves the state, 407.
character of, 408.
Amite County, negro officers in, 309;
disturbances in, 1875, 394.
Appointees of General Ames in 1869,
231-233.
Assessors, pay of, 306, 307.
Attorney general, pay of, 319.
Banishment of citizens, 36.
Bar, admission to, 303.
Barksdale, E., views on reconstruction,
179.
Barnard, F. A. P., president University
of Mississippi, 366.
Barry, H. W., member reconstruction
convention, 187.
Beck, James B., discusses Mississippi
question, 226, 272.
Biddle, Colonel, ejects Governor Hum-
phreys, 214-216.
Boards of supervisors, importance of,
307, 308.
Boutwell committee, investigation of
affairs in Mississippi by, 408, 410.
Brandon, occupation of, 14.
Brown, A. G., favors secession, 2.
resigns seat in United States Senate,
6.
takes oath of allegiance, 53.
accepts reconstruction, 105.
views on reconstruction, 179, 239.
commissioner to see the President, 224.
415
416
INDEX
Brown, John, raid, how viewed in Mis-
sissippi, 4.
Bruce, B. K., offices held, 307.
Bureau, Freedmen's, 249-268.
Butler bill, for organization of provi-
sional government, 225, 227.
for readmission to the Union, 272.
Call for troops, 1861, 7, 21, 22.
Campaign of 1851, 3.
Campaign of 1868, 208-213, 217.
Campaign of 1869, 243-246.
Campaign of 1875, 372-398.
Campbell, J. A. P., testimony of, 155, 179.
Canby, Gen. E. R., defines legal status
in Mississippi, 60.
" Carpet baggers," emigrate to Missis-
sippi, 135.
leave the state, 413.
character of, 414.
Chancellors appointed by Alcorn , 283.
Chase, C. K., mission of, 386, 387.
Chickasaw County, Kuklux in, 344, 362.
Choctaw County, deserters in, 24.
Civil and military authorities, conflict
between, 97-102.
Civil rights legislation, 285, 286.
Claiborne County, negro officers in, 311.
Claims for cotton and other property,
128, 129.
Clarion favors reconstruction, 179.
Clarke, Charles, Gov., efforts to recruit
the army, 21-25.
complaints of, 26, 27.
proclamation, 57.
calls legislature together, 59.
arrested, 60.
memorial for pardon of, 85, 92.
Clayton, A. M., Confederate district
judge, 40.
Clinton riot, 378, 379.
Code, Black, 113-117.
Columbus, temporary seat of govern-
ment, 39.
municipal campaign in, 331.
Commission to Washington, 1865, 62, 63,
88-90.
Commissioners to urge secession, 5.
Committee of five, investigation by, 217.
report of, 218.
proclamation of, 219, 220.
Committee of sixteen, 160, 220, 224.
sojourns at Washington, 222.
conference with the President, 223,
224.
Committee on reconstruction, investi-
gation of Mississippi affairs, 151,
152.
Compromise of 1850, how viewed in
Mississippi, 2.
Confederacy, collapse of, 56, 57.
Confederate money, 68, 69.
Conflicts between military and civil
authorities, 97, 102.
Conscription of deserters, 20-24, 34.
Conservative movement, 237-239.
Constitution, amendment of, during the
war, 43.
Constitution of 1868, opposition to, 211-
213.
rejected, 216, 217.
declared ratified by committee of five,
219, 220.
discussed in Congress, 222, 228.
resubmitted, 237.
ratified, 245.
Convention of 1849 adopts resolutions
looking to secession, 2.
Convention of 1851 endorses Foote and
condemns secession, 4.
Convention of 1861 passes ordinance of
secession, 6, 7.
Convention of 1865, action of, 65, 82-84,
86-88, 93, 94.
Convention, Republican state, 1867,
180.
Convention of conservatives, 1868, 209.
Convention of constitutional Union
party, 1867, 178.
Convention of National Union Republi-
can party, 1869, 237, 242.
Convention of radical Republicans, 1869,
238, 242.
Convention, Democratic state, 1868, 210,
211.
Convention, Democratic state, 1869, 240.
Convention, Democratic state, 1875, 372.
Convention, reconstruction, 187-204.
Convention, Republican state, 1868, 208,
209.
Convicts, issue of pardons to, 1863, 39.
Cordoza, T. W., 332, 366, 404, 405.
Cotton money, 43, 66, 130.
Cotton tax, 131-133.
Courts during the war, 40.
Crosby, Peter, and the Vicksburg riots.
331-334.
Currency, condition of, 130.
Davidson, General, raid of, 18.
Davis, A. K., elected lieutenant gov-
ernor, 292.
course as acting governor, 297-300,
330.
impeached and removed, 404.
Davis Bend Colony, 252, 274.
INDEX
417
Davis, Jefferson, opposes Compromise of
1850,2.
farewell speech in United States Sen-
ate, 6.
memorial for pardon of, 85, 92.
plantation seized, 252.
succeeded in United States Senate by
H. R. Bevels, 270.
Davis, Reuben, testimony of , 7, 8.
Dawes, Senator, on Mississippi bill, 227.
Debt incurred by Republicans, 320-322.
Decatur, occupation of, 14.
Defaulting officials, 323.
Democratic reform legislation, 411-413.
Dent, Louis, arranges conference with
the President, 224.
biographical sketch, 239.
letter from President Grant, 241.
nominated for governor, 242.
canvasses Mississippi, 244.
defeated by Alcorn, 246.
Deserters, 21-25, 53.
Donaldson, Col. R. L., interference with
civil authorities, 264.
Education by Freedmen's Bureau, 26.
Educational reconstruction, 354-371.
Eggleston, B. B., President reconstruc-
tion convention, 188.
nominated for governor, 208.
candidate for mayor, 311.
Election campaign of 1875, 372-398.
Emancipation Proclamation, 255.
Emigration commissioner, 319, 320.
Enforcement Act, prosecutions under,
352, 353.
Enterprise, temporary seat of govern-
ment, 39.
Expenditures, increase of, 314-324.
Farnsworth, Senator, speech on Missis-
sippi bill, 226.
Featherston, W. L., favors secession, 2.
resolution in favor of impeachment,
403.
Federal property in Mississippi, 9.
Ferguson, S. W., testimony of, 311.
Fisher, E, S., nominated for governor, 93.
Fitzhugh, C. W., letter of, 208.
Flannagan, P., ejected from sheriff's
office, 336.
Flournoy, Colonel, attempt to Kuklux,
349.
views on race equality, 369.
Foote, H. S., favors compromise, 2.
candidate for governor, 3.
Forrest, Gen. N. B., enforces conscript
law, 24.
surrender of, 57.
charged with introducing Kuklux into
Mississippi, 338.
Franklin, F. E., speaker, 270.
Freedmen's Bureau, 249-267.
Freedmen, status of, 109-121.
Galloway, J. F., visited by Kuklux, 346,
347, 361.
Gathright, Thomas, advice to teachers,
363.
Gatling gun bill, 382.
Generals furnished by Mississippi, 20.
George, J. Z., letter to people, 1868, 212.
manager of election campaign, 1875,
373.
negotiates peace agreement, 387, 388.
Gholson, S. J., resigns United States
judgeship, 6.
Gillem, Gen. A. C., military government
under, 182-186.
blocks measures of reconstruction
convention, 192-196.
refuses to enforce tax ordinances,
199-200.
superseded by General McDowell,
213.
restored to command, 216.
announces result of election, 217.
testimony of, 222, 223.
removed by President Grant, 228.
Government of occupied territory, 29.
during the war, 39-64.
under constitution of 1868, 281 et seq.
Governor, salary of, 318.
Grant, Gen. U. S., report as commis-
sioner, 148.
conference with committee of six-
teen, 223.
conference with A. G. Brown and H.
F. Simrall, 224, 225.
removes General Gillem, 228.
proclamation resubmitting constitu-
tion, 237.
letter to Judge Dent, 241, 242.
negro policy in 1863, 249, 250.
appealed to for troops, 390.
Grenada occupied, 11.
Grierson, Gen. B. H., raid of, 16, 17.
testimony before reconstruction com-
mittee, 152.
Habeas Corpus, restoration of privilege,
93, 98.
Harris, George E., elected to Congress,
246.
letter to President Grant, 400.
Highgate, Professor, affidavit of, 234.
418
INDEX
Hill, James, elected Secretary of State,
293.
Hill, R. A., testimony before reconstruc-
tion committee, 151.
presides at Kuklux trial, 351.
Hinds County, property destroyed by
war in, 125.
negro officers in, 310.
organization of militia in, 384.
Hinds, General Thomas, president of
convention, 1.
Historical societies, 1866, 152.
Holly Springs, occupation of, 11.
deserters in vicinity of, 25.
Home farm at Davis Bend, 252.
Honey Island, deserters on, 25.
Hooker, C. E., removed from office, 214.
Hudson, Judge, opposes admission of
negroes to the university, 369.
Huggins, A. P., whipped by Kuklux,
347, 348.
Humphreys, B. G., elected governor,
94, 95.
recognized by the President, 96.
proposed disarmament of freedmen,
108.
message in regard to civil rights, 111.
sends commission to Washington, 119.
proclamation relative to negro insur-
rection, 176, 196.
removed by McDowell, 214.
ejected from the mansion, 215, 216.
reflected governor, 217.
Immigration from the North, 135, 136.
Impeachment of state officers, 401 et seq.
Impoverishment at close of war, 122,
123.
Indebtedness at close of the war, 44.
Indigent, relief of, during the war, 45.
Intercourse during the war, 72, 73.
Investigation of Southern affairs, 1866,
147.
Jackson, occupied, 1863, 11.
destruction of, 12, 13.
headquarters fourth district, 229.
Kuklux trial at, 352.
Jacobson, H. C., report of, 353.
Jefferson County, early peace movement
in, 55.
Jews expelled, 31.
Johnston, Amos, favors abolition, 88.
Jones County, alleged secession of, 25.
Judiciary under reconstruction consti-
tution, 282 et seq.
course of Governor Ames relative to,
299-305.
Kemper County, peace sentiment in, 55.
disturbances in, 346.
Kuklux disturbances, 338 et seq.
Labor, readjustment of, 133, 134, 137.
Lake station, occupation of, 14.
Lamar, L. Q. C., favors secession, 6.
address before Democratic conven-
tion, 1875, 372.
views on public affairs, 386.
Land forfeited for non-payment of
taxes, 314.
Legal status at close of war, 63, 68-71, 74.
Legislation, relative to freedmen, 113-
117.
expenditures on account of, 316.
over-abundance of, 325.
Legislature, compensation of members,
325.
Legislature of 1870, 269, 284, 285.
Legislature of 1871 , 288, 289.
Legislature of 1873, 294, 295.
Legislature of 1876, 402 et seq.
Levees destroyed by the war, 126.
Lieutenant Governor, office of, 319.
Liquors, distillation of, during the war,
48.
Local government under Eepublican
rule, 305-314.
Losses in men during the war, 19, 122-
124.
Lowndes County, Kuklux in, 346.
opposition to schools in, 360, 361.
Lynch, Hon. John R., elected speaker,
295, 296.
Lynch, Rev. James, secretary of state,
243.
Macon, temporary seat of government,
39.
Macon Beacon, denounces Kuklux, 345.
Manufactures, encouragement of, 47.
Marion, occupation of, 14.
Marshall County, negro officers in, 309.
McBride, Cornelius, whipped by
Kuklux, 362.
McCardle case, 159, 168.
McDowell, General Irwin, district com-
mander, 213.
removes state officers, 214.
action criticised, 215.
military orders of, 216.
McGehee, Edward, property destroyed,
129.
McKee, Geo. C., member of recon-
struction convention, 187.
elected to Congress, 246.
Me Willie, W. L., favors secession, 2.
INDEX
419
Memphis and Charleston railroad, how
affected by war, 142.
Meridian, occupation of, 13.
Sherman's expedition to, 15.
temporary seat of government, 39.
riot at, 349-351.
Metropolitan police bill, 328.
Military commanders, powers of, 186.
Military companies, names of, 19.
Military service, evasion of, 22, 23.
Military government under General
Ames, 228 et seq.
Military government under General
Gillem, 182 et seq.
Military government under General
Ord, 161 et seq.
Military service, performance of, 20, 21.
Militia, organization of, 100-102, 382.
conduct of, 104.
Ministers banished, 37.
Mississippi Central railroad, how
affected by war, 143.
Mississippi and Tennessee railroad, how
affected by war, 142.
Mississippi question in Congress, 225-
228.
Mizner, Colonel, raid of, 18.
Monroe County, Kuklux in, 347.
opposition to schools in, 309.
Morgan, A. T., member of reconstruc-
tion convention, 187.
kills his predecessor in sheriff's office,
301.
political speech of, 375.
biographical sketch of, 376.
Morris, J. S., criticises Ames, 300.
Mygatt, Alston, member of reconstruc-
tion convention, 188.
Natchez, capture of, 11.
National inquest, 147 et seq .
Negro labor, 133, 138, 261.
Negro officers, 269, 306-308.
Negro students, 369.
Negro suffrage, 109.
Negro troops, 104-107.
Negro voters, 175.
Negroes, enlistment of, 27.
testimony of, in the courts, 94, 96,
109-112, 117.
threatened insurrection of, 108, 176,
195, 196, 375.
legislation relative to, 113-117.
made eligible to jury service, 234.
leave plantations, 249.
cared for by Freedmen's Bureau, 249
et seq.
civil rights for, 285, 286.
condition of, in 1871, 287, 288.
demand for state offices by, 293.
Newspapers, Republican, 326, 327.
Newton County, peace sentiment in, 55.
New Orleans, Jackson, and Great
Northern railroad, how affected
by war, 143, 144.
Offences at close of war, 92.
Officers, furnished by Mississippi to
Confederate army, 20.
during the war, 41, 42.
conduct of, 105.
removal of, by military commanders,
163, 164.
impeachment of, 410 et seq.
Offices, declared vacant, 230.
filled by " loyal "men, 231-233.
under reconstruction constitution, 282
et seq.
how distributed among Republicans,
314, 315.
multiplication of, by reconstruction-
ists, 315.
Ord, Gen. E. O. C., military government
under, 161 et seq.
duties of, 162.
removals by, 163, 164.
stay law, 165.
orders relative to freedmen, 166, 166.
attempts to break up theft, 166, 167.
attitude toward press, 167, 168.
trials by military commissions, 169.
orders relative to registration, 170-173.
relieved of command, 181.
Ordinances of secession convention,
action upon, 91, 92.
Ordinances of reconstruction conven-
tion, 202.
Osband, Gen. E., raid of, 18.
takes possession of archives, 61.
despatch to General Canby, 61.
Osterhaus, Gen. P. J., commander of
Mississippi, 97.
Oxford, occupied, 11.
pillaged by General Smith, 17, 18.
great Kuklux trial at, 352, 357.
Pardons issued by Ames and Davis, 299.
Peace movements, 54, 55.
Peace agreement, 387, 388.
Peace, sentiment in favor of, 51, 52.
sentiment against, 53, 55.
Pearl River scheme, 326.
Pease, H. R. , nominated for state super-
intendent of education, 243.
criticises school law, 358.
position as state superintendent, 366.
420
INDEX
Perce, L. W., elected to Congress, 246.
Pettus, J. J., urges legislature to con-
fiscate land of alien enemies, 24.
Peyton, E. G., chief justice, 283, 302,
303.
Phelan, James, fears peace movement,
54.
Pierrepont, E., correspondence with
Ames, 380, 381.
Pillow, Gen. Gideon J., enforces con-
script laws, 24.
Plantations abandoned, seized, leased,
and restored, 50, 52, 57, 258.
Political parties in 1850, 3.
Politics in 1867, 176 etseq.
Politics in 1868, 205 et seq.
Politics in 1869, 237 et seq.
Pontotoc County, Kuklux in, 348.
schools in, 363.
Postal and railway reconstruction, 139
et seq.
Postal service, arrangements for, 1861,
7, 9.
withdrawn, 139.
reestablished, 140.
Potter, George L., on abolition, 87.
Powers, R. C., nominated for lieuten-
ant governor, 243.
becomes governor, 281.
contingent expenses of, 318.
testimony relative to Kuklux, 344,
361.
Preparations for war, 382, 383.
Presidential reconstruction, 75-121.
Prices during the war, 49, 50.
Printing, cost of, 316, 326, 327.
Printing presses, effect of war upon,
124, 126.
Problems of military occupation, 29 et
seq.
Property, captured, confiscated, and
abandoned, 32, 33.
destroyed during the war, 124, 125.
Qualifications for office and suffrage,
202.
Quitman, J. A., candidate for gov-
ernor, 3.
Quitman, occupation of, 15.
Raids of Union troops, 15-18.
Readmission to Union, 272.
Reconstruction acts, 156-160.
Reconstruction committee, investiga-
tion of affairs in Mississippi, 149-
150, 155, 222, 223.
Reconstruction convention of 1868, 181,
187-204.
Reconstruction, initial movements
toward, 58.
of railway and postal service, 139
et seq.
reorganization under, 281 et seq.
final act of, 299.
Reestablishment of civil government,
sentiment relative to, 178, 179.
Reforms of the democracy, 411-413.
Regulations of trade, 30, 31.
Relations between conquerors and con-
quered, 29.
Removal of officers, 1869, 231, 232.
Republican newspapers in Mississippi,
326, 327.
Republican party in Mississippi, 237,
238, 241, 306, 314, 390, 391, 397, 398.
Revels, H. R., president Alcorn Univer-
sity, 269.
elected to Senate, 271, 274.
letter to President Grant, 399.
Revolution completed, 410-414.
Rolling Fork riot, 377.
Salt, efforts to procure, 46, 47.
Schools during reconstruction, 354-371.
Schurz, Carl, advises against organiza-
tion of militia, 101.
report on affairs in Mississippi, 148.
Secession in Mississippi, 1-5, 7, 66,
154.
Secession leaders, conduct of, 154.
Secession ordinances, action on, in 1865,
91,92.
Sharkey, William L., president Nash-
ville convention, 2.
takes oath of allegiance, 53.
commissioner to Washington, 62, 63.
appointment as provisional governor,
75.
duty as provisional governor, 76.
proclamation, 77, 78.
policy of appointment, 79.
establishes court of equity, 80.
letters from the President, 84, 85, 96.
letter to Seward, 96.
complaints of , 98.
organizes the militia, 101-103.
arrangement relative to negro testi-
mony in the courts, 110.
relieved by the President, 121.
testimony before the reconstruction
committee, 153, 222.
counsel in case of Mississippi vs.
Johnson, 158, 159.
Sheridan, Gen. P. H., Vicksburg de-
spatch, 336.
INDEX
421
Sheriff's office, held by negroes, 306.
Sheriffs, power and compensation of,
305.
Sherman, Gen. W. T., issues supplies to
destitute, 16.
letter to Warren County citizens, 16,
33, 52.
expedition to Meridian, 45.
Simrall, H. F., member of the legislature
1865, 118.
conference with President Grant, 224-
225.
justice of the Supreme Court, 283.
Slavery, declared to be a part of the
public policy, 1.
debates in convention of 1865 on abo-
lition of, 86-88.
abolished, 90.
Slaves removed during the war, 42.
Slocum, Gen. H. W., commander of De-
partment of Mississippi, 97.
conflict with Governor Sharkey, 100.
overruled by the President, 102.
Soldiers, killed in battle, 19, 20.
buried in Mississippi, 20.
Speculators, 31, 32.
State expenditures, 314-324.
State debt, 320-322.
State government, legal status in 1865,
58, 61-63, 67, 68, 74.
State not destroyed by secession, 66.
State taxes, table of , 324.
Stationery used by colored legislators,
317.
Stay laws, 133.
Stringer, T. W., candidate for secretary
of state, 208.
Suffrage, debate in reconstruction con-
vention on, 201, 202.
Supreme Court (United States) deprived
of jurisdiction in the McCardle case,
159.
Surrender of Confederate armies, 57.
Taliaferro, John R., Kuklux testimony,
345,346.
Tarbell, Jonathan, justice of the Su-
preme Court, 283.
Tarpley, C. S., letter from J. C. Calhoun,
2.
Tax collectors, new set of, created, 327
328.
Taxes, assessment and collection of dur-
ing the war, 42.
increase of, during the war, 43, 44.
United States direct, due from Missis-
sippi, 131.
United States, on cotton, 131-133.
laid by reconstruction convention,
196-200.
increase of, under Republican rule,
311, 313, 324.
Tax payers' address, 297.
Tax payers, delinquent, 314.
Taylor, Gen. Richard, surrenders, 57.
Teachers of colored schools, 358, 359.
Thomas, Col. Samuel L., arrangement
relative to admission of negro testi-
mony to the courts, 110.
commissioner Freedmen's Bureau, 254.
address to freedmen, 261, 262.
tour of inspection, 263.
Thomas, Lorenzo, in control of aban-
doned plantations, 250.
Tishomingo County, peace sentiment in,
55.
Trade restrictions during the war, 29-31.
Treasury notes during the war, 44, 45.
Troops furnished by Mississippi to the
Confederate army, 19.
furnished by Mississippi to the Union
army, 19.
where posted in 1868, 182.
Truman, Charles, report of, on Missis-
sippi affairs, 148.
Trumbull, Lyman, discusses Mississippi
question, 227, 273.
Tyler, A. 0., steamer, fired upon, 8.
Union campaign of 1851, 3, 4.
Union soldiers buried in Mississippi, 20.
University, during the war, 367.
affected by reconstruction, 368, 369.
Vicksburg, siege and surrender of, 10.
government of, after surrender, 35-37.
political situation of, in 1874, 324.
municipal campaign in, 329-330.
taxes in, 331.
convention of tax payers, 332.
riot in, 334, 335.
investigation of affairs in, by Con-
gress, 337.
Voters registered in 1867, 175.
Walker, Robert J., counsel in case of
Mississippi vs. Johnson, 158, 159.
Warner, Alexander, chairman Republi-
can executive committee, 384, 390.
Warren County, citizens of, treatment
by Sherman, 53.
affairs in, 1874, 310, 331, 332.
Warren, H. W., speaker, 286.
Warren, Joseph, superintendent of edu-
cation, 354.
422
INDEX
Washington County, negro officers in,
311.
Watson, J. W. C., favors abolition, 88.
testimony before reconstruction
committee, 223.
Wells, G. Wiley, United States district
attorney, report on Kuklux trials,
351-353.
Wilkinson County, negro officers in, 309.
Winslow, General, raid of, 18.
Wofford, J. L., chairman of conserva-
tive convention, 237.
Wood, Gen. T. J., commander Depart-
ment of Mississippi, 17.
changes military organization of Mis-
sissippi, 107.
administration commented on favora-
bly by press, 107, 108, 261.
order to prevent corruption among
officers, 186.
commissioner of Freedmen's Bureau,
Yazoo City, riot in, 375, 376.
Yazoo County, negro and " Carpet-bag "
officers in, 309.
Yerger, E. M., tried by military com-
mission, 170.
Yerger, William, favors peace, 56.
commissioner to Washington, 62, 63.
favors abolition, 88, 89.
biographical sketch, 88 (note).
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