USA > Missouri > DeKalb County > History of Andrew and De Kalb counties, Missouri : from earliest time to the present; together with sundry personal, business and professional sketches and family records. besides a condensed history of the state of Missouri, etc > Part 6
USA > Missouri > Andrew County > History of Andrew and De Kalb counties, Missouri : from earliest time to the present; together with sundry personal, business and professional sketches and family records. besides a condensed history of the state of Missouri, etc > Part 6
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HISTORY OF MISSOURI.
In 1818 the Government of the United States projected the celebrated Yellowstone expedition, the objects of which were to ascertain whether the Missouri was navigable by steamboats, .and to establish a line of forts from its mouth to the Yellow- stone. This expedition left St. Louis in June, 1819. In the same year Arkansas was formed into a separate Territory.
For convenience of reference a short table is appended of the early settlements of Missouri, with the date of the establishment of each in cases where it has been determined.
Names of Settlements.
Dates.
Ste. Genevieve.
1735 (?)
St. Louis.
1764
Near St. Charles
1765
Portage des Sioux
1769
New Madrid
1780
New Bourbon.
1789
Potosi ..
Big River Milis, St. Francois County. .1796
Near Farmington, St. Francois County 1797
Perry County 1796
Bird's Point.
1800
Norfolk.
1800
Charleston
1801
Warren County
1801
Parkersville (Cote Sans Dessein).
1801
Loutre Island
1807
Boone's Lick. 1807
Cooper's Bottom, Franklin County.
1810
STATE ORGANIZATION.
In 1818, John Scott being delegate to Congress, the inhab- itants of Missouri petitioned for admission into the Union of States. The House of Representatives passed a bill to admit the State without slavery, but, as the Senate refused to concur in this anti-slavery clause, the bill failed. Subsequently the meas- ure was amended so as to provide for the gradual restriction of involuntary servitude, but the Senate refusing to endorse any anti-slavery proviso whatever, and the House insisting on that provision, the bill again failed. In 1820, while the matter was still under discussion, Jesse B. Thomas, of Illinois, presented an amendment, which settled for the time all differences between the two Houses, and allowed Missouri to enter the Union with
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HISTORY OF MISSOURI.
slavery. That amendment, famous in history as the " Missouri Compromise." is as follows:
AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE PEOPLE OF THE MISSOURI TERRITORY TO FORM A CONSTITUTION AND STATE GOVERNMENT, AND FOR THE ADMISSION OF SUCH STATE INTO THE UNION ON AN EQUAL FOOTING WITH THE ORIGINAL STATES, AND TO PROHIBIT SLAVERY IN CERTAIN TERRITORIES-ADOPTED MARCH 6, 1820.
* * *
SEC. S. And be it further enacted, That in all that territory ceded by France to the United States, under the name of Louisiana, which lies north of thirty- six degrees and thirty minutes north latitude, not included within the limits of the State contemplated by this act, slavery and involuntary servitude, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes whereof the parties shall have been duly convicted, shall be and is hereby forever prohibited. Provided always, That any person escaping into the same, from whom labor or service is lawfully claimed, in any State or Territory of the United States, such fugitive may be lawfully reclaimed and conveyed to the person claiming his or her labor or services as aforesaid.
Such was the "Missouri Compromise," one of the most im- portant acts of American legislation. The pro-slavery senators consented to this measure because they saw by the determination of the House that they would be unable otherwise to secure the admission of Missouri.
STATE CONVENTION.
Under the act of Congress, the people of the Territory of Missouri, then organized into fifteen counties, were authorized to hold an election in May, 1820, to choose representatives to a State convention whose object should be the framing of a constitution. Accordingly, forty-one representatives thus chosen convened at St. Louis on June. 12. The following are the names of the members of the convention, together with the counties which they represented :
Cape Girardeau-Stephen Byrd, James Evans, Richard S. Thomas, Alexander Buckner, Joseph McFerron.
Cooper-Robert P. Clark, Robert Wallace, William Lillard. Franklin-John G. Heath. 1
Howard-Nicholas S. Burkhartt, Duff Green, John Ray, Jon- athan S. Findlay, Benjamin H. Reeves.
Jefferson-Daniel Hammond.
Lincoln-Malcolm Henry.
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HISTORY Y OF MISSOURI.
Montgomery-Jonathan Ramsey, James Talbott.
Madison-Nathaniel Cook.
New Madrid-Robert D. Dawson, Christopher G. Houts.
Pike-Stephen Cleaver.
St. Charles-Benjamin Emmons, Nathan Boone, Hiram H. Barber.
Ste. Genevieve-John D. Cook, Henry Dodge, John Scott, R. T. Brown.
St. Louis-David Barton, Edward Bates, Alexander McNair, William Rector, John C. Sullivan, Pierre Chouteau, Jr., Bernard Pratte, Thomas F. Riddick.
Washington-John Rice Jones, Samuel Perry, John Hutch- ings.
Wayne-Elijah Bettis.
David Barton was elected president of the convention and William G. Pettis, secretary.
The constitution which the convention formed took effect from the authority of the body itself, no provision having been made to submit it to the vote of the people. It withstood the mutations of parties and all efforts at material amendment from the time of its adoption till the convention of 1865.
THE CLAY COMPROMISE.
On the 16th of November, Mr. Scott laid before the House of Representatives at Washington a copy of the constitution of the new State, whereupon a fresh debate arose, first, because the con- stitution sanctioned slavery and, second, because one of its ar- ticles especially enjoined that such laws should be passed as might be necessary to prevent free mulattoes and negroes from coming to or settling in the new State, under any pretext what- soever.
The perils of the political situation becoming imminent, Mr. Clay, of Kentucky, moved that twenty-three representatives, one from each State, be appointed to act jointly with the Senate com- mittee, in an attempt to adjust the difficulty. Such a committee was chosen with Mr. Clay as its chairman. The Senate also ap- pointed seven of its members on the joint committee, which, on February 26, 1821, reported to each House the following:
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HISTORY OF MISSOURI.
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress Assembled, That Missouri shall be admitted into this Union on an equal footing with the original States, in all respects whatever, upon the fundamental condition that the fourth clause of the twenty-sixth section of the third article of the constitution, submitted on the part of said State to Con- gress, shall never be construed to authorize the passage of any law, and that no law shall be passed in conformity thereto, by which any citizen of either of the States in this Union shall be excluded from the enjoyment of any of the privileges and immunities to which such citizen is entitled under the constitu- tion of the United States. Provided, That the Legislature of said State, by a sol- emn public act, shall declare the assent of the said State to the said funda- mental condition, and shall transmit to the President of the United States, on or before the fourth Monday in November next, an authentic copy of the said act; upon the receipt whereof the President, by proclamation, shall announce the fact; whereupon, and without any further proceeding on the part of Congress, the admission of the said State into the Union shall be considered as complete.
The resolution was soon adopted by both Houses, and on the 26th of the following June the Legislature of Missouri adopted an act declaring the assent of the State to the conditions of ad- mission, and transmitted to the, President a copy of the same. August 10, 1821, after a struggle of two years and a half, the admission of Missouri into the Union was announced by the proc- lamation of President Monroe, and the State from that day took rank as the twenty-fourth of the American Republic.
THE FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
In anticipation of the admission of the State into the Union a general election had been held on August 28, 1820. Alexan- der McNair was chosen Governor; William H. Ashley, lieutenant- governor, and John Scott, representative to Congress. Senators and representatives to the General Assembly (fourteen of the former and forty-three of the latter) were also elected. This body convened at St. Louis in September, and elected David Bar- ton and Thomas H. Benton United States senators, although, as the State was not formally admitted into the Union until the fol- lowing August, they were not allowed to take their places until December, 1821. Mr. Benton held the position of United States senator for thirty consecutive years.
At this session of the Legislature were organized the coun- ties of Boone, Callaway, Chariton, Cole, Gasconade, Lillard (af- terward La Fayette), Perry, Ralls, Ray and Saline. The seat of government was fixed at St. Charles, but was moved, in 1826, to
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HISTORY OF MISSOURI.
.Jefferson City. According to the first census taken in Septem- ber, 1821, the population of the State was 70,647, of whom 11,254 were slaves.
EARLY WARS. BLACK HAWK WAR.
In 1804 a treaty was concluded between the United States and the chiefs of the Sac and Fox nations. One old warrior of the Sacs, however, called Black Hawk, who had fought with great bravery in the service of Great Britain during the War of 1812, had always taken exception to this treaty, pronouncing it void. In 1831 he established himself with a chosen band of braves upon the disputed territory in Illinois, ordering the whites to leave the country at once. Fifteen hundred volunteers from that State, aided by Gen. Gaines, with a company of regulars, sur- prised the Indians, and forced them into another treaty, by which they ceded all their lands east of the Mississippi, and agreed to remain upon the other side of the river. Soon, however, a band of these same Indians attacked a party of friendly Menominies en- camped at Prairie du Chien, murdering twenty-five and wound- ing many others. Brig .- Gen. Atkinson, with a large detachment of regular troops from Jefferson Barracks, was sent to chastise the murderers who had thus flagrantly violated their treaty. Upon this Black Hawk, with his adherents, recrossed the Missis- sippi and established himself at Rock River. Keokuk was the rightful chief of the Sacs and Foxes, and with the majority of his tribes remained true to their agreement with the United States, but Black Hawk's followers were bent upon revenge and plunder. May 14, 1832, a bloody engagement occurred near Dixon's Ferry. On account of the proximity of these hostilities to the Missouri border, and fearing an Indian invasion, Gov. Mil- ler ordered Maj .- Gen. Richard Gentry, of Columbia, this State, to raise 1,000 volunteers, prepared to start for the frontier at a moment's warning.
Accordingly on May 29, 1832, orders were issued by Gen. Gentry to Brig .- Gens. Benjamin Means, commanding the Seventh ; Jonathan Riggs, the Eighth, and Jesse T. Wood, the Ninth Brigade, Third Division, to raise, the first named 400 and each of the last 300 men. Each man was " to keep in readiness a horse
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HISTORY OF MISSOURI.
with the necessary equipment, and a rifle in good order, with an ample supply of ammunition." Five companies were at once raised in Boone County, and others in Callaway, Mont- gomery, St. Charles, Lincoln, Pike, Marion, Ralls, Clay and Monroe. Two of them, Capt. John Jamison's, of Callaway, and Capt. David M. Hickman's, of Boone, in July, 1832, were mus- tered into service for thirty days, and placed under command of Maj. Thomas Conyers. This detachment, accompanied by Gen. Gentry in person, arrived at Palmyra, July 10, and at Fort Pike, which was situated on the Des Moines, at the present site of St. Francisville, in Clark County, five days afterward. Finding that no hostile Indians had entered Missouri, Gen. Gentry ordered work to be discontinued on Fort Matson, in the northern part of Adair County, sixty-five miles from Fort Pike, and within eight miles of the Chariton, and left for Columbia, where he arrived on July 19. Maj. Conyers' command was left at Fort Pike. On August 5, this detachment was relieved by two other companies, under Capts. Sinclair Kirtley, of Boone, and Patrick Ewing, of Callaway. Maj. Conyers remained in command of the fort. In September, the Indian troubles having apparently subsided, the troops on the northern frontier of Missouri were mustered out of service.
For nearly a year afterward, the war was continued at various points in Illinois and Iowa, until, at the decisive battle of the Bad Axe, Black Hawk was entirely defeated, and a great number of his followers killed. He himself escaped, but was soon captured and delivered to the United States officers. He was carried in triumph through a great part of the States, after which, shorn of his power, if not his ambition, he was permitted to return to his tribe. Black Hawk died at the village of his people, on the Des Moines River, in Davis County, Iowa, in 1838, aged about seventy years.
THE SEMINOLE WAR.
Florida originally belonged to Spain. Among its aboriginal inhabitants was a humane and romantic tribe of Indians, called the Seminoles. Their manners were gentle, and their language soft; but the wrongs they suffered are as deep and wicked as any ever inflicted by a civilized nation upon a weak and defenseless people. Escaping slaves found refuge in the Spanish Territory,
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HISTORY OF MISSOURI.
formed settlements along the Appalachicola and Suwannee Rivers, and became members of the Seminole and Creek nations, holding lands and enjoying the fruits of their labors. Spain refused to deliver up the fugitives who had thus intermarried with the In- dians, and whose descendants soon became an almost indistin- guishable part of the tribe. The slave holders of Georgia were furious, and the Government of that State, on several occasions, sent troops into the Creek country and laid waste villages, burned huts, and killed innocent members of the tribe. Spain resented these piratical raids, and the President of the United States was compelled to disavow any responsibility for such outrages, which nevertheless continued.
On July 27, 1816, an old fort situated on the Appalachicola, which had been built by the British during the War of 1812, and subsequently occupied by the blacks and their descendants, was blown up by forces under command of Gen. Gaines. There were in the fort 334 persons, mostly women and children, and 270 of these unfortunate creatures were instantly torn in pieces.
The Seminoles, goaded from their placid ways, attempted to retaliate; but their efforts, though gallant, were feeble. The raids upon the Seminole country and its citizens continued, and the state of affairs became a matter of serious perplexity to the general Government.
In 1835, during President Jackson's administration, renewed hostilities arose from an attempt to remove the Seminoles and Creeks to lands west of the Mississippi. The chief of the former tribe was Osceola, a half breed of great talents and audacity, who, driven to desperation by personal wrongs, as well as those inflicted upon his people, formed a conspiracy to slaughter the whites and devastate the country. The Creeks were soon con- quered and set beyond the Mississippi. In 1837 Osceola was captured and soon after died, but the war continued.
In the fall of 1837 the Secretary of War issued a requisition on Gov. Boggs, of Missouri, for two regiments of mounted vol- unteers for the Seminole War.
The first regiment was raised chiefly in Boone and neighbor- ing counties by Col. Gentry, and was composed of eight compan- ies. Four companies of the second regiment were also raised
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HISTORY OF MISSOURI.
and attached to the first. Of these latter, two companies were composed of Delaware and Osage Indians.
Col. Gentry's regiment left Missouri in October, 1837. The men were taken by boat from St. Louis to New Orleans, and transported thence to Tampa Bay, Florida. On the voyage they encountered a severe storm, and several of the vessels were stranded. Many horses were lost but no men, and on the 15th of November the troops disembarked at their destination. On the 1st of December they received orders from Gen. Zachary Taylor, then commanding in Florida, to march to Okeechobee Lake, in the vicinity of which the whole force of the Seminoles was said to have collected. Having reached the Kissemme River, seventy miles distant, the cavalry scouts captured several Indians, from whom Col. Gentry learned that their main forces were near at hand, and immediately crossing the river he formed the Missouri volunteers in front, and, supporting them at a proper distance by the regular army on either flank, advanced to meet the attack. The Indians had chosen a fine position, and continued the battle with a pertinacity seldom exhibited in their method of warfare. Col. Gentry fought on foot, as did all his command, and had repulsed the enemy after several hours of severe fighting. He was grad- ually pushing them across a swamp, and had nearly reached the dry soil, when a bullet pierced his abdomen, inflicting a fatal wound. He knew its serious nature, yet stood erect an hour afterward, and cheered his men to victory, until, at last, being compelled to desist, he was borne from the field, and expired the same night. The Missourians continued to fight several hours after the fall of their leader, until the Indians were entirely van- quished. The loss of the whites in killed and wounded was 138, most of whom were Missourians.
The forces from this State being no longer needed, they re- turned to their homes early in 1838. The remains of Col. Gentry, as well as those of Capt. Vanswearingen and Lieuts. Brooke and Center, of the Sixth Regular United States Infantry, were afterward brought to Jefferson Barracks and buried, the Gov- ernment of the United States erecting over them a suitable monument. The county of Gentry was named in memory of the gallant commander.
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HISTORY OF MISSOURI.
After a war of eight years, during which nearly $40,000,000 had been expended, several hundred persons seized and enslaved, and hundreds of lives lost, the Seminoles and their colored kin- dred were removed as far as the Cherokee country, and subse- quently to that of the Creeks. After persistent attempts of the latter to reduce them to a state of servitude, and after many of the exiles had been actually seized and sold into perpetual bond- age, the remainder of the blacks, excepting 200 who were sup- posed to be so intermarried with the Seminoles as to render them safe, abandoned the country and fled to Mexico.
THE MORMONS AND THE MORMON WAR.
The origin, rapid development and prosperity of the relig- ious sect, commonly called the Mormons, are among the most remarkable and instructive historical events of the present cen- tury. That an obscure individual, without money, education or elevated position in society, should persuade people to believe him inspired of God, and cause a book, insignificant as a literary production, to be received as a continuation of the sacred reve- lation, appears almost incredible. Yet in less than half a cen- tury, the disciples of this personage have increased to hundreds of thousands; have founded a State in the distant wilderness, and compelled the Government of the United States to practically rec- ognize them as an independent people.
The founder of Mormonism was Joseph Smith, a native of Vermont, who emigrated, while quite young, with his father's family to western New York. The story of the finding of the golden plates in the "Hill of Cumarah," their transcription, the printing of the Mormon Bible, the organization of the first church of the new faith, are themes not important to be considered here. It may be well to state in passing that the believers in Mormon- ism claim that their Bible gives a history of the peopling of the Western Continent, as the common Bible narrates the origin of the human race on the Eastern, and the Mormons accept both volumes as of Divine inspiration, calling themselves "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints." The common name by which they are known is that given to one of the writers of the Mormon Bible.
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HISTORY OF MISSOURI.
Having gained a number of converts, Smith, in 1831, moved to Kirtland, Ohio, and, during the same year, made a visit to Missouri in search of a location for " Zion." He found it at In- dependence, Jackson County, named the place " The New Jerusa- lem," and returned to Kirtland.
In 1832 Smith established himself with many followers in Jackson County. Here the new church acquired several thou- sand acres of land, which the members professed to hold in com- mon, and published a paper called The Morning and Evening Star, in which were printed promises of boundless prosperity to the "Saints," and frightful denunciations against the "Gentiles." The result was a series of trifling encounters between the two parties, until, October 31, 1833, an engagement occurred near Westport, in which two citizens and one Mormon were killed.
The Gentile citizens of Jackson County now rose in arms in considerable numbers, and committed a series of acts of violence toward the Mormons. The bishop was tarred and feathered, the printing press thrown into the river, the storehouse plun- dered, and the " Saints" were forced to leave the county without any compensation whatever for the lands they were compelled to abandon.
The Mormons next located in Clay, Carroll and Caldwell Counties, but principally in the latter, which was organized for their benefit. They established headquarters at Far West, which was founded in 1836, and which Smith assured his followers would soon become one of the great cities of the world. As the result of the preaching of missionaries in the Eastern States, converts flocked into the country and their settlements soon spread into Daviess and Clinton Counties, but Far West was their chief town and commercial center. Some of the Mormon settlers were good and industrious people, but many were violent and lawless, and considered that they had a right to take anything they chose from the Gentiles. As the latter were in the minority in Cald- well County, and as most of the county offices were held by "Saints," there was considerable dissatisfaction among the Gen- tiles, and violent deeds were committed on either side.
In Carroll County a committee of citizens waited upon the leaders of the Mormon settlement at De Witt, and notified them
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HISTORY OF MISSOURI.
that they must leave the county. Mormon recruits poured into the town, and an engagement took place on the 21st of Septem- ber, 1838, but no serious casualty occurred. The attacking party was now increased by reinforcements to 400 or 500 men, but before renewing the battle, they demanded once more that the obnoxious settlers should leave the county.
Although the terms of this proposition were quite stringent, it was acceded to, and the Saints loaded their property on wagons and removed to Far West.
October 25 a skirmish took place at Crooked River in the southwestern part of Caldwell County, where one Gentile was killed, several others wounded, and David Patten, the leader of the Danite Band or United Brothers of Gideon, and two other Mormons, were killed. The Gentiles were commanded by Capt. Sam. Bogart.
The people of Missouri now determined to be rid of the Mormons, and in 1838 Gov. Boggs issued an order to Maj .- Gen. David R. Atchison to call out the militia of his division and proceed against the Mormons and expel them from the State or "extenuate them." A part of the First Brigade of the Mis- souri State Militia, under command of Gen. Alexander W. Doni- phan, at once proceeded to the seat of war. Upon receipt of Gov. Boggs' exterminating order, Gen. Atchison left the field, and the command of the forces was turned over to Maj .- Gen. S. D. Lucas, of Independence, pending the arrival of Gen. John B. Clark, of Howard County. The Mormon forces numbering about 600 men were led by Col. George W. Hinkle.
The principal event was the massacre at Haun's mills, five miles south of the present site of Breckinridge, Caldwell County. Three militiamen were wounded and seventeen of the Mormons, two of them little boys, killed - some of them after their sur- render - and their bodies were thrown into a half finished well. This massacre, for it was nothing else, was perpetrated by 250 men from Livingston and Daviess Counties, under Col. Thomas Jennings.
When the militia appeared at Far West where the principal Mormon forces were gathered, the Mormons surrendered, agree- ing to Gen. Lucas' conditions, viz .: That they should deliver up
5
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HISTORY OF MISSOURI.
their arms, pay the expenses of the war, surrender their promi- nent leaders for trial, and the remainder of the Mormons should, with their families, leave the State.
The leaders were taken before a court of inquiry at Rich- mond, Judge Austin A. King presiding. He remanded them to Daviess County to await the action of the grand jury on a charge of treason against the State. The Daviess County jail being poor, they were confined at Liberty. Indictments for various offenses - treason, murder, robbery, receiving stolen goods, arson, resisting legal process, etc.,-were found against Joseph Smith, Hiram Smith, Sidney Rigdon, G. W. Hinkle, Parley P. Pratt and a number of others. Sidney Rigdon was released on a writ of habeas corpus. The others requested a change of venue, and Judge King sent their cases to Boone County for trial. On their way to Columbia, under a military guard, Joe Smith effected his escape. It is generally believed that the guard was bribed, subsequently, P. P. Pratt and others also escaped; some of the prisoners were acquitted, and the indictments dismissed against all the others. In connection with the removal of the Mormons, and according to the terms of their surrender, there were many terrible scenes. Numbers of them were poor, and had invested their all in lands from which they were about to be driven. Valuable farms were traded for an old wagon, a horse, a yoke of oxen, or anything that would furnish means of transportation. In many instances, convey- ances of lands were demanded and enforced at the muzzle of the pistol or the rifle. Nearly 4,000 Mormons removed from Cald- well County to Nauvoo, Ill.
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