486 



MISSOURI. 



force, issued a lengthy proclamation to the 

 people of the northeastern counties, warning 

 them that the men or body of men who ven- 

 ture to stand in defiance of the supreme author- 

 ity of the Union, endangered their lives. 



On the 16th a skirmish took place at Mill- 

 dlle, about thirty miles above St. Charles, on 

 the North Missouri Railroad. About eight hun- 

 dred Union troops had reached this point, when 

 the track was torn up, and they were fired 

 upon by a secession force, and an engagement 

 followed, in which a small number were killed 

 and wounded on each side. 



A little further south, near Fulton, in Gallo- 

 way County, about twenty-three miles north- 

 east of Jefferson City, a skirmish took place on 

 the 17th, between Col. McNeil, with about 

 600 men, and Gen. Harris, with a considerable 

 force, in which the latter were routed with a 

 loss of several as prisoners. On the 19th Gen. 

 Pope, who had been assigned to the command 

 in Northern Missouri, issued the following 

 proclamation : 



ST. CHARLES, Mo., July 19. 

 To the People of North Missouri : 



By virtue of power and authority I have assumed 

 command of North Missouri. I appear among you 

 with a force strong enough to maintain the authority 

 of the Government, and too strong to be resisted by 

 any means in your possession usual in warfare. Upon 

 your own assurances that you would respect the laws 

 of the United States, and preserve the peace, no troops 

 have hitherto been sent in your section of the country. 

 The assurances for the last ten days, however, have 

 plainly exhibited your lack of either the power or in- 

 clination to fully carry out the pledges, and the Gov- 

 ernment has therefore found it necessary to occupy 

 North Missouri with a force powerful enough to impel 

 obedience to the laws. As soon as it is made manifest 

 that you will respect its authority and put down un- 

 lawful combinations against it, you will be relieved of 

 the presence of the forces under my command, but not 

 until then. I therefore warn all persons taking up 

 arms against the National authority, who attempt to 

 commit depredations upon public or private property, 

 or who molest unoffending and peaceful citizens, that 

 they will be dealt with in a most summary manner, 

 without waiting civil process. JOHN POPE, 



Brigadier-General U. S. A., Commanding. 



He had previously proceeded from St. Louis 

 to St. Charles, where his head-quarters were 

 established, in order to take charge of that de- 

 partment. His command in North Missouri 

 was seven thousand strong, and so posted that 

 Jefferson City, Booneville, Lexington, and all 

 the principal points in the northern parts of the 

 State were within easy striking distance. 



About the same time that Gen. Lyon left St. 

 Louis for Jefferson City, June 15, other troops, 

 consisting of ten companies, left for Kolla, 

 which is the termination of the southwest 

 branch of the Pacific Railroad, and 113 miles 

 from St. Louis. This force was increased sub- 

 sequently, and active operations took place in 

 that section of the State. 



Such is a brief notice of the actual skirmishes 

 and battles which took place in the State dur- 

 ing the month of July, and including the events 

 at Dug Springs and "Wilson's Creek, in the 

 month of August. They afford a very faint indi- 



cation of the excitement, the uncertainty, and 

 the division of sentiment which existed at that 

 time. The majority of the people, however, 

 were evidently warm Union men, and the de- 

 cided action of the State Convention secured 

 their adhesion to the support of the Federal 

 Government. 



Meanwhile, on the 6th of July, the following 

 call was issued for the assembling of the State 

 Convention : 



ST. Louis, July 6, 1861. 



We, the undersigned, being a majority of the Com- 

 mittee of the Convention of the State of Missouri, 

 charged with the duty of convening said Convention, 

 at such time prior to the third Monday of December, 



1861, and at such place as they may think the public 

 exigencies require, do hereby notify the said Conven- 

 tion to assemble and meet at Jefferson City in the State 

 of Missouri, on the 22d day of July, in the year of our 

 Lord eighteen hundred and sixty-one. 



R. WILSON, 

 J. W. McCLURE, 

 THOMAS T. GUNTT, 

 J. T. TINDALL, 

 JAMES R. McCORMAC. 



On the 22d of July the State Convention re- 

 assembled. New questions were presented for 

 its consideration, of which there were no pre- 

 cedents. The Governor, legally chosen, had 

 gone from the capital after initiating against 

 the National Government a military demonstra- 

 tion that had resulted in disaster to himself and 

 his adherents. The Lieutenant-Governor, who, 

 of right, should have succeeded the Governor, 

 was a self-condemned exile from the State, and 

 was believed to be engaged in schemes which 

 incapacitated him for a proper discharge of the 

 executive functions in a loyal commonwealth. 

 Nor was the President pro tern, of the Senate 

 present to take the place of the Lieutenant- 

 Governor, nor the Speaker of the House to take 

 the place of the President pro tern. Thus the 

 Executive Department was without a head, 

 and the important functions of Governor re- 

 mained undischarged. 



In the State Convention the first business was 

 to declare the seat of Gen. Price, as President 

 of the Convention, vacant. A committee of 

 seven was appointed, to whom were referred 

 several resolutions relative to the state of 

 affairs. On the 25th the committee presented 

 their report. It alluded at length to the un- 

 paralleled condition of affairs, the reckless 

 course of the recent Government, and flight of 

 the Governor and other State officers from the 

 capital. It declared the offices of Governor, 

 Lieutenant-Governor, and Secretary of State 

 vacant, and provided that their vacancies 

 should be filled by the Convention, the officers 

 so appointed to hold their positions till August, 



1862, at which time it recommended a special 

 election by the people. It proposed to repeal 

 the ninth section of the sixth article of the 

 Constitution, and that the Supreme Court of 

 the State should consist of seven members ; and 

 that four members, in addition to the three 

 comprising the court, should be appointed by 

 the Governor chosen by the Convention, to hold 



