USA > Arkansas > The aftermath of the civil war, in Arkansas > Part 9
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"I am, Governor, yours with great respect,
"D. P. UPHAM, "Brig .- Gen. Commanding."
About this time a delegation composed of Col. A. C. Picket, Hon. C. L. Gauze, and John W. Slayton, called on me at the executive offices in Little Rock, Ark., with the avowed purpose of having the civil authority restored in Woodruff County. Colonel Picket was the spokesman, and commenced by saying, "Governor, I know not how it is in other counties in the State, but we can assure you that there are no Ku Klux in Woodruff County." At this point I interrupted the Colonel and drew from a drawer in my desk a list of the Ku Klux Klan of Wood- ruff County sent me by General Upham a few days be-
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fore. Handing it to him, I remarked: "Colonel, please look over this list, and I think you will find that your name, like that of 'Ben Adhem,' leads all the rest." The Colonel glanced over it, and before he had time to reply I said: "Now, gentlemen, don't come to me with lies on your lips. If you will go back home, and in good faith disband the Ku Klux organization there, and fur- nish me with conclusive evidence that you have done so, and I have means of knowing whether you do or not, I will revoke martial law and restore the civil authori- ties there."
The Colonel and his associates seemed much crest- fallen, and for a time they were speechless. At length they agreed that they would go back and comply with my requirements, which in due time they did. This I learned from General Upham and from other sources of information, whereupon on December 14, 1868, I by proclamation restored the civil authorities in Wood- ruff County.
Years afterward, when Colonel Gauze became a member of Congress from that district, he and I fre- quently laughed over this Picket episode. He told me that they had made life almost unbearable for the Col- onel on their way back to Woodruff County because of the sudden termination of a speech that he had previ- ously prepared and read to them.
General Upham had been threatening the declara- tion of martial law in Jackson County, and on Decem- ber 17, 1868, William Brian and John W. Slayton visited General Upham at Augusta for the purpose of averting the application of martial law to their county. In their letter of December 17, 1868, addressed to E. L. Watson, W. K. Patterson, and others, relative to affairs in Woodruff County, published in the Republican of De- cember 22, 1868, the following language occurs :
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"The people here in this county have, with few excep- tions, submitted and pledged themselves to assist the civil officers to enforce the laws, We have conversed freely with them and they earnestly desire and implore citi- zens outside from other counties not to attack or offer any resistance whatever to the military. It is the utmost folly and murderous to do so. "
OPERATIONS OF THE MILITIA UNDER COLONEL WATSON
An account of Colonel Watson's militia operations from the time he left Helena until he returned to that city and mustered out his command is given in the follow- ing communication to me from him, dated October 3, 1889:
"In accordance with your orders in the fall of 1868, I organized four companies of Infantry : In Helena one company; in St. Francis one company, and in Crittenden County two companies. These were made up of colored men. The officers were white except two second lieu- tenants who were colored men.
"I had to arm my men as best I could, there being no state arms for my use. The same is true as regards ammunition and clothing. Many of the men had not sufficient clothing to protect them in ordinary weather under shelter, much less when exposed to the severe weather we encountered.
"All of my officers and most of the men had seen much service in the war. On December 24, '68, I marched from Helena with the four Phillips County companies en route for Madison. Phillips County being under Civil Law, I invited the sheriff to accompany me through the county, which he did. On the night of De- cember 25, while encamped in the woods near Madi- son, six inches of snow fell on us. This caused much suffering among the men.
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"I reached Madison on the 26th. Here I let it be understood that I was going up Crowley's Ridge to the counties above. I remained in Madison about two days to permit the assembling of the St. Francis company. On the night of the 28th (I think) about nine o'clock I took possession of the telegraph office, and the passenger engine on the Memphis and Little Rock Railroad. then only running from Memphis to Madison. I ferried my men across the St. Francis in an old flat boat and by day- light was at Hopefield and on my way to Marion, eight miles distant, having nearly reached the latter place be- fore my presence in the vicinity was known.
"When two miles from Marion I was met by Lieu- tenant-Colonel Main and Captains Haynes and Cook, who had organized the two companies in Crittenden County. With the assistance of Main I mounted a squad, and under his command they dashed into Marion, cap- turing a lot of the desperadoes who had committed so many outrages in the county. I then moved into Marion and put up a strong stockade. I found a terrible state of affairs in Crittenden County. The better class of citi- zens was completely cowed by the desperadoes who held complete possession of the county.
"Many citizens of the county, both Republicans and Democrats, told me the organization of the Ku Klux was so nearly universal that no man, if he were opposed to the existing state of affairs, dared speak to his neighbor on the subject. Consequently, no organized movement could be made, and there was no possible solution of the matter except by martial law.
"I was attacked several times at night. In one of these attacks we killed one of the attacking party, and I learned that several were wounded. After I had been at Marion a short time Lieutenant-Colonel Monks re- ported with ( I think) six companies of cavalry. He had been ordered to me by General Upham. He had a good body of troops under good discipline and all white men from the northwestern part of the State.
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"Soon after the arrival of Colonel Monks, General Upham came over to Marion on a tour of inspection. He took Colonel Monks and his cavalry and went up to Mississippi County, and placed him in command of that county. When General Upham left Marion he took with him four of the prisoners I had captured. intend- ing to take them to Augusta and send them to Little Rock, they being the most notorious of the outlaws I had captured. On the march to Mississippi County these men attempted to escape and were killed.
"Shortly before this time, four colored men belong- ing to the Helena Company committed rape on two white women. I had them arrested and brought before a Court Martial. They admitted their guilt and were sentenced to be shot to death, which sentence was car- ried into effect. The firing squad in the execution was composed entirely of colored men. They executed their orders without a comment, which shows a good state of discipline for militia. In justice to the colored men of the command I must say they favored the execution of these men in vindication of themselves.
"One of the prisoners I had captured, named Mof- fard, was charged with several murders and with shoot- ing Captain Barker of the United States service. who was stationed at Marion. I ordered a Military Com- mission for his trial. Moffard was tried, clearly proven guilty, and sentenced to be hanged, which sentence, with the approval of the Governor, was executed. Both of the Courts above mentioned were composed of my most experienced officers, men who had seen long service. I had little difficulty in enforcing strict discipline. If the men could have had uniform clothing and arms. they would have compared favorably with any troops.
"The Appeal and Avalanche, papers published in Memphis, published almost daily what purported to be accounts of killings and outrages in Crittenden. giving lists of names of people who had never been heard of in the county. These stories were all entirely false ex-
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cept so far as justified by above facts. Several parties who came over to see how matters were tried to stop these false stories, but without avail. Among these were Dr. McGanock, for whom I had a safeguard from the Governor, and a committee appointed by a meeting in Memphis. All these told me they found the reports to be false and would have them corrected. But it did not suit the purposes of these papers to publish the truth.
"The commanding officer of the United States troops at Memphis (General Granger, I think) sent one of his staff over to call on me and see for himself. I took care to let him see everything. He reported to the Gen- eral that the published accounts were nearly all false, that my command was as orderly as could be under the conditions surrounding us.
"At first there was a strong effort made in Memphis to raise a force to come over and drive me out. A large force was organized in the city and surrounding country, but they did not make the attempt.
"After my skirmishes a large number of the worst men in the county left the State; some of them never returned, I am told. After everything had quieted down I sent the St. Francis company home, leaving Colonel Main in command with the two companies belonging in that county. I took the companies from Helena home and relieved them from duty in time to commence their crops.
"My memory of what occurred in Mississippi County under Colonel Monks is very indistinct. I think he is living in Missouri some place.
"The last I knew of Colonel Main, he was in charge of the National Cemetery at Fort Smith. He could give you a statement of affairs in Crittenden before mar- tial law was declared. I cannot speak too highly of Main. He is a man of remarkable courage and good judgment. His war record was brilliant.
"What I have written is from memory, but every
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statement is correct. As I told you, much of my record was burned in my office at Helena. I do not know what troops Upham had over on White River and do not re- member much of what occurred there. . .. "
About January 8, 1869, General Upham left Augusta on a tour of inspection of the troops in the counties of Craighead, Greene, Mississippi, and Crittenden. Having heard, through Memphis sources, so many disparaging reports relative to the conduct of the militia in Critten- den County, I concluded to visit General Upham and make a personal investigation. For that purpose I ar- rived in Memphis with my staff on the evening of Janu- ary 25, 1869, and left for Marion, Crittenden County, the next day, where I remained several days and thor- oughly investigated the reports referred to.
I regret very much that I have no detailed written report from General Upham covering the period of his tour of inspection, the lack of which can only be accounted for upon the theory that, having thoroughly gone over the ground with me in my investigation at Marion, he concluded a written report was unnecessary. I can only say that the final results of my investigation completely vindicated General Upham and Colonel Watson in the conduct of their respective commands, and agreed sub- stantially with the report of Generals Babcock and Porter to General Grant, and with the written report of Brig .- Gen. R. B. Ayres, of Colonel Rousseau's staff, which was transmitted to the War Department, and reads as fol- lows : 13
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"DEPARTMENT OF LOUISIANA
"ACTING ASSISTANT INSPECTOR-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
"NEW ORLEANS, LA., Jan. 19, 1869.
"BVT .- BRIG .- GEN. THOS. H. NEILL,
"Act. Asst. Adjt .- General,
"Department of Louisiana.
"GENERAL: I have the honor to submit the follow- ing report concerning affairs in Arkansas as observed in my recent visit to that State, made pursuant to S. O. No. 104, series of 1868, from these Headquarters.
"At the close of the Civil War society was greatly disorganized in Arkansas, especially in those portions of the State where the population is sparse and scattered, and the substitution of Civil Law for the military rule has been attended with unusual difficulties and progressed slowly in those regions. Desperate characters, accus- tomed to lawlessness, have continued to commit acts of violence and outrage with impunity. The law-abiding citizens, having become accustomed to those things by the frequency of their occurrence, considered them as a matter of course; and from that and other causes failed to give that countenance and support to the civil officers that was essential to the full and fearless performance of their duties. Those officers, in many instances, were in- timidated and in fear of personal violence, so that the execution of the law was always attended with difficulty in the localities referred to, and the attempt to execute it often resulted in entire failure, and it came to be con- sidered by the Executive Authority of the State that it was necessary to adopt some course whereby the suprem- acy of the law should be established, the outrages stopped, and the outlaws brought to justice or driven from the State.
"Several methods were suggested whereby the de- sired result might be obtained. One was to place small detachments of United States troops in each of the dis- turbed counties, to act as a posse in assistance of the
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sheriff, and application was made to the Department Commander for troops for this purpose, but he did not deem it advisable to make the disposition recommended. This would have been at best but a temporary expedient of no longer duration than the presence of the troops; moreover, the calling upon the United States Govern- ment for assistance would of itself have been considered as an acknowledgment of the failure of the State Gov- ernment and the civil authority. Another method was to enroll a small force of militia in the disturbed coun- ties, to act subordinate to, and in assistance of. the civil officers; but their sphere of action was deemed too lim- ited to ensure more than partial results.
"Another plan, and the one adopted, was to place the several counties wherein the execution of civil law was a failure under martial law, to divide the State into Districts, and to organize a movable force of militia to pursue and arrest or drive from the State the ruffans and outlaws.
"In pursuance of this plan the State was divided into the Districts of the Southwest, the Northwest, the North- east, and the Southeast, and commanders were assigned to them. The force in the Southwest district was op- posed by an armed band, with which it had a conflict at Centre Point, resulting in the killing of several of the in- surrectionists, the capture of others, of arms, etc., and the dispersion of the remainder. A band also organized to resist the force in the Northeast District near Augusta. but the persons composing it were persuaded by the citi- zens of that town to disperse without a conflict.
"The result of the plan adopted has been that the substantial, law-abiding citizens of the several counties placed under martial law have held meetings and pledged themselves to support the civil authorities and to assist the civil officers, when necessary, in the per- formance of their duties. A result certainly of the most gratifying character and promising peace, and the due ex- ecution of the laws in the future.
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"In each county where these guarantees have been given the civil authority has been restored and martial law now exists in but one or two counties, and it will doubtless soon cease to exist in the State. As regards the alleged outrages by the militia, the reports thereof are great exaggerations and many of them pure fabrication. It would be impossible anywhere to call into existence a force as this has been, for temporary purposes, and not have violations of orders and military law.
"There was no other way to maintain the militia but to subsist it on the county-collecting supplies by a sys- tem of contributions levied on the people, giving receipts therefor with a view to future payment; and I was as- sured the commanders used their best endeavors that this should be done in a proper manner. Subordinates at times doubtless exceeded their orders; also persons not of the forces, but representing themselves as be- longing to them, in some instances plundered the people. In cases where orders were disobeyed and instructions departed from, the delinquents when detected were pun- ished according to the military code. A gross outrage was perpetrated by a militiaman of the Southwest com- mand. He was promptly tried and executed.
"As fast as the civil authority is established the militia forces are disbanded; and it is confidently believed that the civil law can be enforced in the future by the officers thereof, and that a resort to the military power will not be again necessary.
"Respectfully submitted,
"(Signed) R. B. AYRES,
"Lt .- Col. 28th Inf., Bvt .- Maj .- Genl., "A. A. I. G."
It is to be regretted that Colonel Watson did not give the names of the four men he refers to as having been killed in an attempt to escape on their way to Mississippi County from Marion. However, I have an indistinct
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recollection that, during my investigation at Marion, Gen- eral Upham gave me the names of these men. I remem- ber that during the progress of my investigation with General Upham I first regarded his statement as to the killing of the four men as unsatisfactory, but he con- vinced me that in this case they actually were attempt- ing to escape when they were fired upon at short range by the guards and killed.
In recognition of the invaluable services rendered by Colonel Watson, prior to his muster out, I promoted him to the rank of Brigadier-General.
CONDITIONS EXISTING IN CRITTENDEN COUNTY PRIOR TO COLONEL WATSON'S OCCUPATION
The following extract from a letter from Col. E. M. Main, dated February 5, 1910, shows the condition of affairs existing in Crittenden County prior to its occu- pation by Colonel Watson :
"I have read Colonel Watson's statement of the op- erations of the State troops under his command in Crit- tenden County, which I think in the main is correct. The statement coincides with my recollection of those events. There may, however, be some minor events that have escaped our memory, but I think Colonel Watson's state- ment covers the most salient points.
"I might here mention the fact, evidently overlooked by the Colonel, that at the time he arrived with the State troops the enemy had a pretty well organized force of several hundred men, and they amused themselves by driving in our pickets every night for some time, or until the arrival of Colonel Monks with his cavalry when we raised the siege, before which there was more or less skirmishing every night.
"Before Colonel Watson arrived there were open and
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bloody threats against the State troops, and that they were prepared to carry out these threats was evident.
"Relative to the condition of affairs in Crittenden County previous to the declaration of martial law and the arrival of the State troops, I must say that the county was in a most deplorable state of disorder. In fact a reign of terror, intimidation, and murder prevailed. The vilest passions of the worst element of the community seemed to be aroused and bent on evil doing, and no one dared to raise voice or hand in protest, and the saturnalia of crime went on unchecked.
"Mounted men in disguise,-Night Riders, Ku Klux. or what you please to call them, -- raided and re-raided the county, leaving a trail of blood wherever they went and filling the land with the wail of orphan and the ag- onized shriek of wife and mother. Then it was that the cry was raised, 'Murder and no law!' Both white and colored citizens,-the proscribed 'Yankee and Nigger,' -fell victims of this thirst for blood. Specific cases with uncontrovertible proof were not lacking, but the law was paralyzed,-the public conscience was dead.
"Among the first to fall a victim to this thirst for blood was Capt. E. G. Barker, agent of the Freedmen's Bureau, with his office at Marion. In this case, as in many others, little care was taken at concealment. Cap- tain Barker was shot through the open window of his office in the early dusk, in the most public part of the town, and was left to his fate, no one daring to go to his relief. I was living on a plantation two miles from Marion, where the news of the shooting was brought to me by a colored man. I proceeded at once to the scene of the shooting, accompanied by Captain Havnes and four colored men. We found Captain Barker pros- trate on the floor, where he had fallen when shot, drenched in his own blood. He was unconscious. Two large buckshot, evidently fired from a shotgun. had en- tered his head, and two shot had shattered his wrist.
"On an improvised stretcher, made from articles
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found in his office, we had him carried from the place, passing through a jeering mob of half drunken men as we emerged into the street. It was evident that the man, or men, who had done the shooting were among this mob. We had Captain Barker carried to our house and a doctor summoned,-J. H. Southall, an ex-Confederate. Subsequently Dr. Southall told me that he attended on Captain Barker at the peril of his own life, that he had been notified that if he did so it would be at the peril of his life. All honor to Dr. Southall. He gave Cap- tain Barker his closest attention, making daily visits, going armed himself as a precaution against attack, Dr. Southall was a Virginian, a Harvard graduate, and a sur- geon in Forrest's Cavalry. He frequently expressed him- self strongly against the lawlessness in the county. There were honorable, law-abiding men of both political parties in Crittenden County, but they were overawed by the desperadoes who set all law at defiance, arraying neigh- bor against neighbor, and bringing trouble and reproach upon all.
"Captain Barker was a Christian gentleman; his only offense seemed to be in doing his duty faithfully as an agent of the Government. He organized Sunday Schools among the colored people, which was objectionable to a certain class of white people. He was zealous in safe- guarding the rights of the colored people in the matter of contracts for labor, but no less so in the inter- ests of the employer-planter. I know that he was scrupu- lously conscientious in the discharge of his duty, always counselling patience and forbearance on the part of the colored people, seeming to realize the fact that, the labor system of the South having been revolutionized, it be- came necessary to exercise tact and judgment in order to minimize the friction that would evidently arise be- tween employer and employees.
"Captain Barker had rendered gallant service in the Union Army, as was attested by an empty sleeve. He served, I believe, in an Iowa regiment. When Captain
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Barker was shot I was holding a position as clerk in the Freedmen's Bureau, and was instructed to take charge of the affairs of the office. The inflamed condition of the county increased to such an alarming extent that hun- dreds of colored people flocked to my plantation for protection, and the situation became so threatening that I appealed, as an Agent of the United States Government, for protection,14 which appeal was answered by a lieuten- ant with a detail of United States soldiers reporting to me for duty. This detail was quartered on my plantation, acting as a guard for the Freedmen's Bureau only, and was withdrawn on the arrival of the State troops under Colonel Watson.
"Previous to the open outbreak and the defiance of law, Captain Haynes and myself had taken no active part in the political questions that then agitated the county, being content to pursue our business as planters, and we only made a stand when personally and unjustly assailed. We held no office nor sought any.
"On the departure of Colonel Watson and the Hel- ena detachment of State troops, the command of the Sub-Military District, with the two Crittenden County companies, was turned over to me. From this time until civil law was restored and the troops disbanded nothing of special interest transpired, our efforts being directed to the restoration of peace, harmonizing the discordant factions, and restoring confidence, with, however, but partial success. The unbridled passions in the absence of law had inflicted wounds that only time could heal. The seeds of discord had been sown and a bitter harvest must inevitably follow. "
My visit to Crittenden County to investigate the ques- tions heretofore referred to compelled me to pass through and return to the city of Memphis, Tenn., which was not only the headquarters of the Ku Klux organiza- tion in the South, but a place of refuge for the Ku Klux
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