MISSISSIPPI. 



583 



mcnt Commander, and, so far as he has observed, of 

 all officers on duty in the State, to execute these 

 orders in a spirit of conciliation and forbearance; 

 and while obeying implicitly all instructions of the 

 President and the War Department, to make military 

 rule as little odious as possible to the people. While 

 the military authorities have acted in this spirit, and 

 have been as successful as could have been antici- 

 pated, the Provisional Governor has thought proper, 

 without consultiition with the Department Com- 

 mander, or with any other officer of the United 

 States on duty here, to organize and arm a force in 

 every county, urging the "young men of the State, 

 who have so distinguished themselves for gallantry," 

 to respond promptly to his call ; meaning thereby 

 that class of men who have as yet scarcely laid down 

 the arms with which they have been opposing our 

 Government. Such force, if organized as proposed, 

 is to be independent of the military authority now 

 present, and superior in strength to the United States 

 forces on duty in the State. To permit the young 

 men who have so distinguished themselves to be 

 armed and organized independently of United States 

 military officers on duty here, and to allow them to 

 operate in counties now garrisoned by colored troops, 

 filled, as many of these men are, not only with preju- 

 dice against those troops, and against the execution 

 of orders relative to freedmen, but even against our 

 Government itself, would bring about a collision at 

 once, and increase in a tenfold degree the difficul- 

 ties that now beset the people. It is to be hoped 

 that the day will soon come when the young men 

 called upon by Governor Sharkey and the colored 

 men now serving the United States will zealously 

 cooperate for the preservation of order and the pro- 

 motion of the interests of the State and nation. It 

 will be gratifying to the friends of the colored race 

 to have the assurance in an official proclamation 

 from the Provisional Governor that the day has al- 

 ready arrived when the experiment can safely be at- 

 tempted. But as the questions on which these two 

 classes will be called to cooperate are those with re- 

 gard to which there would undoubtedly be some 

 difference of opinion, particularly as to the construc- 

 tion of certain laws relative to freedmen, the Com- 

 manding General prefers to postpone the trial for the 

 present. It is the earnest desire of all military offi- 

 cers, as it must be of every good citizen, to hasten 

 the day when the troops can, with safety, be with- 

 drawn from this State, and the people be left to ex- 

 ecute their own laws ; but this will not be has- 

 tened by arming at this time the young men of the 

 State. 



The proclamation of the Provisional Governor is 

 based on the supposed necessity of increasing the 

 military forces in the State to prevent the commis- 

 sion of crime by bad men. It is a remarkable fact 

 that most of ttie outrages have been committed 

 against Northern men, Government couriers, and 

 colored people. Southern citizens have been halted 

 by these outlaws, but at once released and informed 

 that they had been stopped by mistake ; and these 

 citizens have refused to give information as to the 

 parties by whom they were halted, although frankly 

 acknowledging that they knew them. 



Governor Sharkey, in a communication written 

 after his call for the organization of militia forces 

 was made, setting forth the necessity for such or- 

 ganization, states that the people are unwilling to 

 give information to the United States military au- 

 thorities which will lead to the detection of these 

 outlaws, and suggests, as a remedy for these evils, 

 the arming of the very people who refuse to give 

 such information. 



A better plan will be to disarm all such citizens, 

 and make it for their interest to aid those who have 

 been sent here to restore order and preserve peace. 

 It is therefore 



Ordered, That District Commanders give notice at 

 once to all persons within their respective districts 



that no military organizations, except those under 

 the control of the United States authorities, will be 

 permitted within their respective commands ; and 

 that, if any attempt is made to organize after such 

 notice, those engaged in it will be arrested. When- 

 ever any outrages are committed upon either citizens 

 or soldiers, the commander of the post nearest the 

 point where the offence is committed will report the 

 fact to the District Commander, who will forthwith 

 send as strong a force to the locality as can be 

 spared. 



The officer in command of such force will at once 

 disarm every citizen within ten miles of the place 

 where the offence was committed. If any citizen 

 possessing information which would lead to the cap- 

 ture of the outlaws refuses to impart the same, he 

 will be arrested and held for trial. The troops will 

 be quartered on his premises, and he will be com- 

 pelled to provide for the support of men and animals. 

 These villains can be arrested, unless they receive 

 encouragement from some portion of the community 

 in which they operate, and such communities must 

 be held responsible for their acts, and must be made 

 to realize the inevitable consequences of countenanc- 

 ing such outrages. 



By order of Major-General SLOCUM. 



J. WARREN MILLER, Assistant Adjutant-General. 



On the 29th the President -received a de- 

 spatch from Gen. Carl Schurz, expressing doubts 

 of the propriety of Gov. Sharkey's course, and 

 deprecating any action by the President ad- 

 verse to the order issued by Gen. Slocuin. 

 Next day the President telegraphed to Gen. 

 Schurz as follows : 



EXECUTIVE MANSION, I 

 WASHINGTON, D. C., August 30, 18C5. ) 



Major- General Carl Sclmrs, VicJcsbnrg, Miss. : 



f presume Gen. Slocum will issue no order inter- 

 fering with Gov. Sharkey in restoring the functions 

 of the State government without first consulting the 

 Government, giving the reasons for such proposed 

 interference. It is believed there can be organized in 

 each county a force of citizens or militia to suppress 

 treason, preserve order, and enforce the civil au- 

 thority of the State and of the United States, which 

 would enable the Federal Government to reduce the 

 army and withdraw to a great extent the forces of 

 the United States, thereby reducing the enormous 

 expenses of the Government. If there was any dan- 

 ger from an organization of the citizens for the pur- 

 pose indicated, the military are there to detect and 

 suppress on the first appearance any move insur- 

 rectionary in its character. One great object is to 

 induce the people to come forward in the defence of 

 the State and Federal Government. 'General Wash- 

 ington declared that the people of the militia was the 

 army of the Constitution, or the army of the United 

 States, and as soon as it is practicable, the original 

 design of the Government must be resumed, and the 

 government administered upon the principles of the 

 great chart of freedom handed down to the people by 

 the founders of the republic. 



The people must be trusted with their government, 

 and, if trusted, my opinion is they will act in good 

 faith and restore their former constitutional relations 

 with all the States composing the Union. The main 

 object of Maj. -General Carl Schurz's mission to tha 

 South was to aid, as far as practicable, in carrying 

 out the policy adopted by the Government for re- 

 storing the States to their former relations with the 

 Federal Government. 



It is hoped such aid has been given. The procla- 

 mation authorizing restoration of State governments 

 requires the military to aid the Provisional Governor 

 in the performance of his duties as prescribed in the 

 proclamation, and in no manner to interfere or throw 

 impediments in the way of consummating the object 



