662 



TENNESSEE. 



preserve the peace of this Commonwealth. 1 ' 

 Those enrolled under this call in East Tennes- 

 see were to be furnished with transportation 

 to Nashville, and there armed, equipped, and 

 distributed, under command of General Joseph 

 A. Cooper. The Governor further adds : 



This proclamation will, in due time, be followed 

 by another, designating the counties over which I 

 snail declare martial law, the effect of which will be 

 to set aside civil law, and turn offenders over to the 

 military, who will try them, and, upon their convic- 

 tion, ^dispose of them in summary manner. 



These outrages have been long borne with, in the 

 hope that they would be abated iby the public senti- 

 ment of the respective communities concerned. For- 

 bearance has now ceased to be a virtue. The Execu- 

 tive is not to be brow-beaten, cajoled, nor terrified 

 out of the discharge of the duties demanded by exist- 

 ing exigencies. 



All citizens who may not enroll under this call 

 are hereby requested and enjoined to use their utmost 

 endeavors, in conjunction with the State Guards, and 

 otherwisej to restore and preserve the peace and dig- 

 nity of this Commonwealth, and all citizens are also 

 hereby warned against harboring those masked 

 marauders called Ku-klux Klans, or giving them aid 

 and countenance. 



The Governor is determined to make the State 

 Guards sufficiently numerous and effective, and to 

 continue them in the field sufficiently long, until 

 Middle and West Tennessee are as orderly and se- 

 cure as, happily, East Tennessee is to-day. 



Shortly after the publication of this procla- 

 mation, the following order was issued by 

 General Cooper : 



General Order, No. 1. 

 HEADQUARTERS TENNESSEE STATE GUARDS, ) 

 NASHVILLE, TENN., January 25, 1869. ) 

 In obedience to instructions from his Excellency 

 the Governor, 



The undersigned assumes command of all the 

 Tennessee State forces in the field. 



All persons applying for permission to raise com- 

 panies must be of good moral character and must be 

 in sympathy with the State and Federal Govern- 

 ment. 



There will be no commissions issued to line officers 

 until they have a command equal to the rank which 

 the commission represents; eighty-four men will be 

 entitled to a captain, first and second lieutenant; 

 forty-four to one first-lieutenant, and will be consoli- 

 dated with some other organization if they fail to fill 

 up a minimum company. 



By command of 



JOSEPH A. COOPER, Brig-Gen'l., Commander. 

 L. B. GAMBLE, Captain, A. D. C. 



On the 20th of February, martial law was 

 declared in nine counties of the State by the 

 following proclamation of Governor Brown- 

 low: 



WJiereas, There are now sixteen hundred State 

 Guards at Nashville, armed and equipped, under 

 command of General Joseph A. Cooper ; and. 



Whereas, These troops are intended to preserve 

 the peace and enforce the laws in counties heretofore 

 partially in rebellion : now, therefore, 



I. William G. Brownlow, Governor of Tennessee, 

 do hereby proclaim martial law in and over the follow- 

 ing-named counties, to wit : Overton, Jackson, Maury, 

 Giles, Marshall, Lawrence, Gibson, Madison, and 

 Hay wood ; and I further direct that General Cooper 

 distribute these troops at once, and continue them in 

 service until we have unmistakable evidence of the 

 purpose of all parties to keep the peace. 



It is further ordered in this proclamation that the 



general in command shall enforce the most rigid dis- 

 cipline among his troops, requiring them in every 

 particular to conform to strict military discipline, 

 showing no quarter to either officers or privates who 

 shall be found guilty of habitual drunkenness. 



In testimony whereof, I have caused the great seal 

 of the State to be attached hereunto, this 20th day 

 of February, 1869, and I order that the same be in- 

 serted three times in each of the newspapers entitled 

 to publish legal advertisements. 

 (Signed) W. G. BEOWNLOW, 



Governor of Tennessee. 



The policy chosen by the Executive to se- 

 cure the enforcement of the laws caused no 

 little alarm among the citizens in the counties 

 affected thereby, who made efforts to free 

 themselves from the inconveniences of martial 

 law, by the adoption of resolutions pledging 

 the cooperation of all good citizens to aid the 

 civil authorities in a fearless execution of the 

 laws, and expressing the belief that "neither 

 martial law nor troops is necessary to pre- 

 serve the peace or protect the lives of citi- 

 zens." The Executive, however, was de- 

 termined not to withdraw the militia until 

 order was fully restored, and the civil authori- 

 ties were able to preserve the peace. During 

 the spring the attention of the people was 

 gradually diverted from the subject of martial 

 law by the growing excitement of the politi- 

 cal canvass, which during the summer became 

 unusually spirited, and attracted the atten- 

 tion of the country at large. The contest was 

 waged not by the usual rival parties, but by 

 opposing factions of the Eepublican party. 

 These factions were unable to agree upon any 

 candidate for Governor in the Republican State 

 Convention held at Nashville on the 20th of 

 May, and so irreconcilable was the difference 

 between them that the Convention abruptly 

 terminated in disorder before even a permanent 

 organization had been effected. Subsequently 

 the delegates representing the two hostile 

 factions of the party held separate meetings, 

 and respectively nominated De Witt 0. Senter 

 and William B. Stokes as candidates for Gov- 

 ernor, each of whom claimed to be the regular 

 nominee of the Eepublican party. Both of 

 these candidates were prominent Republicans, 

 and claimed to u stand fully and frankly upon 

 the platform of the National Republican par- 

 ty." Mr. Stokes represented the third dis- 

 trict of the State in Congress, and Mr. Senter, 

 by virtue of his position as president of the 

 Senate, had, in the latter part of February, 

 succeeded to the office of Governor, made 

 vacant by the resignation of William G. Brown- 

 low to enter the Senate of the United States. 

 No nominations for Governor were made by 

 any other party ; and it was understood that 

 the Conservatives and the Democrats would 

 unite in supporting Mr. Senter on account of 

 his views on the franchise question, while Mr. 

 Stokes was regarded as the representative of 

 the more radical element of the State. On 

 account of the disruption of the convention, 

 no declaration of principles in the form of 

 resolutions had been made by either party; 



