482 



MISSOURI. 



necessary either for the protection of the " loyal sub- 

 jects" of the Federal Government, or for the repelling 

 of invasion, and they plainly announced that it was 

 the intention of the Administration to take military 

 occupation, under these pretexts, of the whole State, 

 and to reduce it, as avowed by General Lyon himself, 

 to the " exact condition of Maryland." Th'e acceptance 

 by me of these degrading terms would not only have 

 sullied the honor of Missouri, but would have aroused 

 the indignation of every brave citizen, and precipitated 

 the very conflict which it has been my aim to prevent. 

 We refused to accede to them, and the conference was 

 broken up. 



He thus closes : 



While it is your duty to obey all the constitutional 

 requirement of the Federal Government, it is equally 

 my duty to advise you that your first allegiance is due 

 to your own State, and that you are under no obliga- 

 tion whatever to obey the unconstitutional edicts of 

 the military despotism which has enthroned itself at 

 Washington, nor to submit to the infamous and de- 

 grading sway of its wicked minions in this State. No 

 brave and true-hearted Missourian will obey the one 

 or submit to the other. Rise, then, and drive out 

 ignominiously the invaders who have dared to dese- 

 crate the soil which your labors have made fruitful, 

 and which is consecrated by your homes. 



It is asserted in this proclamation that Gen. 

 Harney's removal showed the disapprobation 

 of the Federal Government with the arrange- 

 ment concluded between that officer and Gen. 

 Price. The arrangement was made on the 21st 

 of May, but the order of removal was dated 

 May 16th. This order was not served on Gen. 

 Harney until May 29th or 30th, the same day 

 that the General served a final answer in the 

 case of Emmett McDonald, (see HABEAS COR- 

 PUS.) In the proclamation of Gen. Lyon, dated 

 June 17th, five days after that of Gen. Jackson, 

 there is a copy of an order from the War De- 

 partment, directed to Gen. Harney, " com- 

 manding Department of the "West, St. Louis," 

 and dated May 27th. This is eleven days after 

 the date of the order for Gen. Harney's re- 

 moval, and two or three days before the order 

 was served upon him. That order was as fol- 

 lows ; 



ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, ) 

 WASHINGTON, May 27, 1SG1. ) 



Brigadier- General W. 8. Harney, Commanding De- 

 partment West, St. Louis : 



SIK: The President observes with concern that, 

 notwithstanding the pledge of the State authorities to 

 cooperate in preserving the peace of Missouri, loyal 

 citizens in great numbers continue to be driven from 

 their homes. It is immaterial whether these outrages 

 continue from inactivity or indisposition on the part 

 of the State authorities to prevent them. It is enough 

 that they continue, and it will devolve on you the duty 

 of putting a stop to them summarily by the force under 

 your command, to be aided by such troops as you may 

 require from Kansas, Iowa, and Illinois. The profes- 

 sions of loyalty to the Union by the State authorities 

 of Missouri are not to be relied upon. They have al- 

 ready falsified their professions too often, and are too 

 - far committed to secession to be admitted to your con- 

 fidence, and you can only be sure of their desisting 

 from their wicked purposes when it is not in their 

 power to prosecute them. You will, therefore, be un- 

 ceasingly watchful of their movements, and not per- 

 mit the clamors of the partisans and opponents of the 

 measures already taken to prevent you from checking 

 every movement against the Government, however 

 disguised, under the pretended State authority. The 

 authority of the United States is paramount, and 



whenever it is apparent that a movement, whether by 

 order of State authority or not, is hostile, you will not 

 hesitate to put it down. L. THOMAS, 



Adjutant-General. 



The proclamation issued by Gen. Lyon on 

 June 17th, five days after that of Gov. Jackson, 

 was designed not only to counteract the im- 

 pressions produced by the latter, but also to 

 state the reasons for the measures about to be 

 commenced. Gen. Lyon states that the Gov- 

 ernor and Legislature sympathized with the se- 

 cession movements, and adopted every means 

 to effect a separation of the State from the 

 Federal Government. The establishment of 

 encampments at an unusual period of the year, 

 and for an indefinite time, could have no other 

 object than the concentration of a large military 

 force, to be subjected to the provisions of the 

 military law. This bill provided for an obliga- 

 tion to the State on the part of all persons en- 

 rolled under its provisions irrespective of any 

 obligation to the United States. This, of itself, 

 Gen. Lyon declares, was a repudiation of the 

 authority of the Federal Government, and, 

 coupled with the surrounding circumstances, 

 would lead to direct hostilities. The agreement 

 between Gen. Harney and Gen. Price was 

 based on a repudiation of this military bill, and 

 all efforts of the militia of the State under its 

 provisions. But it failed to define specifically 

 the terms of peace, and how far a suspension 

 of the terms of the bill should form a part of it. 

 Hence constant complaints had been made to 

 him, and next to Washington, accompanied 

 with appeals for relief by peaceful citizens from 

 the exasperating hardships imposed under the 

 bill. This relief Gen. Lyon conceived it to be 

 the duty of a just Government to give. Its 

 policy is found, he says, in the order to Gen. 

 Harney of May 27th above mentioned. He 

 then proceeds in these words : 



It is my design to carry out these instructions in 

 their letter and spirit. Their justice and propriety 

 will be appreciated by whoever takes an enlightened 

 view of the relations of the citizens of Missouri to the 

 General Government. Nor can such policy be con- 

 strued as at all disparaging to the rights or dignity of 

 the State of Missouri, or as infringing in any sense 

 upon the individual liberty of its citizens. The recent 

 proclamation of Governor Jackson, by which he has 

 set at defiance the authorities of the United States, and 

 urged you to make war upon them, is but a consum- 

 mation of his treasonable purposes, long indicated by 

 his acts and expressed opinions, and now made mani- 

 fest. If, in suppressing these treasonable projects, car- 

 rying out the policy of the Government, and maintain- 

 ing its dignity as above indicated, hostilities should 

 unfortunately occur, and unhappy consequences should 

 follow, I would hope that all aggravation of those 

 events may be avoided, and that they may be diverted 

 from the innocent, and may fall only on the heads of 

 those by whom they have been provoked. 



In the discharge of these plain but onerous duties, I 

 shall look for the countenance and active cooperation 

 of all good citizens, and I shall expect them to dis- 

 countenance all illegal combinations or organizations, 

 and support and uphold, by every lawful means, the 

 Federal Government, upon the maintenance of which 

 depend their liberties and the perfect enjoyment of all 

 their rights. N.'LYON, 



Brig.-General U. S. Volunteers, Commanding. 



