MISSOURI. 



551 



duties until the pleasure of the War Department be 

 known in his case. 



And as all solemn appeals to the Supreme Being 

 not proceeding from honest hearts and willing minds 

 are necessarily offensive to Him and subversive of 

 sound morality, BO much of Special Order No. 31, 

 June 18, 1864," as requires public prayer to be pro- 

 nounced in. behalf of the President of the Uuited 

 States and the Union, is suspended until further 

 orders ; leaving all persons conducting Divine wor- 

 ship liberty to manifest such measure of hostility as 

 they may feel against the Government and Union of 

 these States, and their sympathy with the rebellion, 

 by omitting such supplication, if so minded. 

 'By order of Brig. -Gen. M. BBAYHAN, 



J. H. ODLIX, Ass't Adj't Gen. 



The Confederate State Government con- 

 tinued undisturbed through the year. At the 

 session of the Legislature all white males be- 

 tween sixteen and fifty-five were made, subject 

 to the Governor's orders. Little else is at 

 present known of its proceedings. 



MISSOURI. The session of the Legislature 

 of Missouri, commenced immediately after the 

 close of the electibn in November, 1863. In 

 February, 186-i, a bill was passed, which pro- 

 vided simply for a call of a convention to revise 

 the organic law of the .State. The election of 

 delegates to this convention was to be held in 

 November ensuing, at the time of the general 

 election. At the same time the people were to 

 vote on the proposition whether they desired a 

 convention or not. If they decided against a 

 convention, then the delegates were not to as- 

 semble. If the vote sustained the proposition, 

 then the convention was to meet in St. Louis 

 on Jan 5th, 18G5. 



The action of the convention in 1863, on the 

 subject of emancipation, was not satisfactory to 

 a portion of the citizens. It provided for grad- 

 ual instead of immediate emancipation. The 

 latter was sought to be obtained by a new 

 convention, composed of men more recently 

 elected than those of the adjourned convention. 



The annual election was held on Nov. 8th ; 

 previous to which Gen. Rosecrans, in command 

 of the department, issued the following orders : 



HEADQUAETERS DEPARTMENT OF THE MISSOURI, ) 

 ST. Lotis, Mo., October 12, 1;C4. >" 



General Order No. 195. 



Our free government, established and administered 

 by the will of the people, expressed through legal 

 elections, requires from every citizen a sacred regard 

 for the preservation and purity of the elective fran- 

 chise. 



The General commanding expects the united assist- 

 ance of the true men of all parties, in his efforts to 

 secure a full and fair opportunity for all who are en- 

 titled to vote at the approaching election in the State 

 of Missouri, and in excluding from the polls those 

 who by alienage, treason, guerrillaism, and other 

 crimes or disabilities, have no just right to vote. 



The laws of the State declare who may vote, and 

 prescribe the times and places of voting. But, in 

 the present disturbed condition of the country, the 

 civil power is too weak effectually to enforce the exe- 

 cution of those laws, or adequately punish offenders. 

 Wherefore in compliance with his duty as a citizen 

 and department commander, and with the wishes of 

 all true citizens, and in aid of the law, the General 

 commanding orders as follows: 



1. Those, and only those, who have the qualifica- 



tions, and who take the oath prescribed by the State, 

 copies of which are hereunto annexed, sha.l vote. 



From the terms of the oath, it is manifest that it 

 was the intention of the Missouri State Convention 

 that no person should vote who, since the 17th day 

 of Dec. 1861, has wilfully taken up arms or levied 

 war against the United States, or against the Pro- 

 visional Government of the State of Missouri. Thi? 

 excludes from the right of voting all who, since that 

 date, have been in the rebel army or navy anywhere, 

 and all who, since that date, have been anywhere 

 engaged in guerrilla marauding or bushwhacking. 

 If, therefore, any such person offer to vote, his 

 vote may be challenged, and he shall be immediately 

 arrested. And any judge of election shall be arrest- 

 ed and punished who permits the name of any such 

 person to be recorded in the poll book, or his vote 

 to be received, where such judge has personal knowl- 

 edge of his true character, or the same is shown to 

 him by lawful evidence before the vote is received. 



Voting, or attempting to vote, in contravention of 

 law or orders, is declared a military offence, sub- 

 jecting the offender to arrest, trial, and punishment, 

 if convicted. 



2. No one who has borne arms against the Gov- 

 ernment of the United States, or voluntarily given aid 

 and comfort to its enemies during the present re- 

 bellion, shall act as judge or clerk at an election; nor 

 shall any county judge knowingly appoint any such 

 person to act as judge at an election. Violation of 

 this will be promptly noticed, and the offenders 

 brought to trial by the local military authorities. 



3. Outrages upon the freedom of election by vio- 

 lence or intimidation ; attempting to hinder legal, or 

 to procure or encourage illegal, voting; interfering 

 with the legal challenge of voters ; acting as officers 

 of election, in contravention of law or orders ; wil- 

 ful neglect to perform their duties, under the laws 

 and these orders, by officers of elections, and es- 

 pecially taking the voters' or officers' path falsely ; 

 and all other acts and words interfering with the 

 purity and freedom of elections, are crimes against 

 the liberties of the people, and are declared mflitary 

 offences, and will be rigorously punished. 



4. The laws of the State provide that those of its 

 citizens who are in the armv shall not thereby lose 

 the privilege of voting, provided the voting is done 

 in the manner prescribed^ The commanding General, 

 therefore, directs that, on the day of election, every 

 practicable facility be afforded for taking, in camp, 

 or on the field, the vote of citizens of Missouri who 

 may then be in any company of Missouri volunteers 

 or militia, in the service of the United States or the 

 State. 



A copy of the ordinance of this State, providing 

 for elections under the supervision of the command- 

 ing officers of companies, is hereto subjoined, for the 

 guidance of all concerned. Such commanding offi- 

 cers will not on any account neglect to make arrange- 

 ments for, and to hold, such elections, where the 

 condition of their commands will admit of their being 

 held without detriment to the service. 



The commanding General deems it better that all 

 citizens of Missouri in the military service in this 

 State should vote in their companies, as authorized 

 by said ordinance ; but he does not consider that the 

 uniform of the army should be a badge of exclusion 

 of any soldier from voting at the polls where he, as 

 a citizen, would be entitled to vote, and therefore 

 does not prohibit it. At the same time, he directs 

 that any soldier who abuses the privilege of access 

 to the polls, by any disorderly conduct, or by any 

 unauthorized interference with other citizens in the 

 lawful exercise of the right of voting, shall be punish- 

 ed, and all military officers are especially charged to 

 prevent any such act on the part of any soldier. 



5. Wherever there is good reason "to apprehend 

 that rebel bushwhackers, or other evil disposed per- 

 sons, will attempt to control the election at any pre- 

 cinct by their acts, threats or presence, a sufficient 



