Reconstruction in the South--Third Regiment Mustered Out--The Farewell
Order--Sacrifices and Costs of the War.
A very important work still remained to be accomplished by the union
army, namely, the restoration of law and order in the southern states. I
had the honor to be entrusted with a portion of that work, an account of
which was given in a paper prepared and read by me before the commandery
of the military order Loyal Legion, at one of its meetings in St. Paul,
in March, 1889, from which I quote as follows:
"After listening to the many interesting addresses on battles and
campaigns that have been read before the commandery at our monthly
meetings, I fear that you will be disappointed, not only with the
subject of this paper, but also with the commonplace incidents which I
have to relate, and yet I think that the part taken by the Union army in
the so-called reconstruction of civil government in the rebellious
states immediately after the war deserves a place in the history of that
army and of the war. All the world knows how bravely our soldiers
fought, how willingly they endured hardships of the camp and of the
wearisome march, how patiently they bore sickness, wounds, and
sufferings of every kind, and how faithfully they obeyed the orders of
advance to danger and to death. But there is still another trait of
their character, perhaps the greatest of them all, that of the good
citizen, who was able, as soon as the last smoke of battle had cleared
away, to restrain all feelings of enmity and revenge, to take the enemy
by the hand, to guide, help, and protect him and his in all the rights
of citizenship, and it is of that I would relate some facts that came
under my own observation and experience.
"Having been stationed at Duvall's Bluff, Arkansas, in command of a
brigade, of which my own regiment, the Third Minnesota infantry, formed
a part, I received orders from Maj. Gen. J. J. Reynolds, commanding the
Department of Arkansas, on the 15th of May, 1865, to establish a
military post at Batesville, Arkansas, on the upper White river, and to
take command of a district comprising the north-eastern portion of that
state. The field organization of the Seventh army corps, to which we
belonged, was being broken up. Some of the regiments were sent home to
be mustered out of service; others were sent to different points for
purposes of occupation. My own regiment and two squadrons of the Ninth
Kansas Cavalry were detailed for the work given in my charge.
"On the 18th of May we embarked on steam transports, and reached
Batesville on the 20th. A few days later my post headquarters was
established at Jacksonport, and the troops were distributed at different
points with one or two companies for each, at Batesville, Searcy,
Augusta, Powhatan; and the main force at Jacksonport, from which point
frequent cavalry patrols were sent to the outlying stations.
"The topography of that country is very irregular and unique. The
eastern portion, bordering upon the Mississippi, is flat and marshy,
with many lakes and bayous, and has a rich, alluvial soil. The other
portion is very broken, with hills and mountain ridges, rocks, caves and
beautiful streams, but poor soil. The lowlands had been occupied by
wealthy slave owners, whose sympathies were strong for the Southern
cause. The highlands were occupied by the poorer class, only a few of
whom had owned slaves. Many of this class were strong Union men, and
soldiers in the Union army. During the great struggle of four years many
bloody tragedies had been enacted between the loyal and the rebel
residents, and bitter feelings of revenge still rankled in the breasts
of the survivors. During the whole period of the war the country had
been swept clean, at rapid intervals, by both armies alternately, and
each time new atrocities had been perpetrated, and all the worst
passions of the people rekindled. It had also been a place of refuge for
the worst rebel elements in southern Missouri, when too hardly pressed
by our friend Gen. Sanborn[2] and other Union commanders. At the time of
our arrival the surviving soldiers from both armies were returning to
their homes, also many refugees,--rebels from Texas and Union men from
the North,--most of them to find their families destitute and their
property destroyed.
[Footnote 2: Gen. John B. Sanborn, who was present when this paper was
read.]
"The irregular Confederate troops under Gen. Jeff. Thompson, numbering
some eight thousand men, had not yet surrendered, but were scattered
over the district in a thoroughly demoralized condition, so that the
whole situation was rather peculiar and very bad, and it was a difficult
task to prevent fresh outbreaks, and to restore order and get the people
started anew in the peaceful avocations of life.
"My instructions were to preserve law and order, to organize and arm
companies of home colonists for self-protection, to encourage
agriculture and commerce, and to assist the citizens in restoring civil
government. The men under my command during the early reconstruction
period had certainly no reason to love Arkansas, because they had not
only buried their best friends and comrades within its borders, but had
themselves for months and months experienced there that dreadful
suffering most feared by all soldiers, and for which few receive any
credit,--namely, the inglorious privation of the silent watch,--in the
swamp, in the trenches, in the hospital, on the camp-stretcher, and in
the ambulance,--when tired, sore, sick, thirsty, lonely, and seemingly
forsaken by God and man, unknown and with praise unsung, with no
cheering sound of drum or bugle, no battle flag or cheer in sight or
hearing, no voice of comrades or of guns, and no magic touch of elbows
or shouts of victory. These men had experienced all that, and had no
special reason to sympathize with the inhabitants who had done their
full share to bring them into so much misery. And now observe how they
treated those inhabitants. Immediately on arriving at Batesville the
following order was promulgated, and, by the aid of an old printing
press and swift couriers, scattered all over the district:
'HEADQUARTERS U. S. FORCES,
'BATESVILLE, ARK., May 22, 1865.
'General Order No. 1.
'I. It is hereby announced to the people of Batesville and surrounding
country that the chief object of the federal occupation of this place
is their protection against armed forces, of whatever kind, to give
encouragement to agriculture and other peaceful pursuits, and to
restore commercial intercourse.
'II. The public safety and mutual interests demand that all persons
living within our lines and enjoying the protection of the nation's
forces shall declare their obedience to the government.
'III. It is ordered, therefore, that all persons now living or
hereafter coming within our picket-lines who have not taken but desire
to take the oath of allegiance, with the purpose of restoring and
establishing the national authority, shall register their names
without delay in the provost marshal's office, where the oath will be
administered.
'By order of
'COL. H. MATTSON, Commanding.
'P. E. FOLSOM, Lieutenant and Post Adjutant.'
"On the same day a beginning was made to organize companies of home
colonists among the great number of Union refugees who had followed the
troops to Batesville. Arms and ammunition were placed in their hands,
and the following instruction given:
'HEADQUARTERS U. S. FORCES,
'BATESVILLE, ARK., May 22, 1865.
'_To the members of Companies of Home Colonists_:
'You will, as soon as practicable, depart with your families to your
several homes, and there proceed to cultivate the land and secure a
crop for the coming year.
'The arms and ammunition with which you have now been furnished by the
government of the United States are for the protection of yourselves
and families, and for no other purpose.
'The laws of your state guarantee you full redress for private
injuries; you will therefore leave all disputes and wrongs to be
settled by them and by the military authority of the United States,
and it is only against the armed force of marauders that you will
resort to the use of these arms; remember, always, that you are not
soldiers, but citizens.
'You will promptly report to your own officers and to the military
commander of this post any information you may obtain of armed forces
of marauders; and in case of emergency you are authorized to act as a
military body in pursuing them. The commanding officer will always
extend to you aid, both in men and subsistence, so far as lies in his
power, but you must, like free and independent citizens, place
yourselves, by industrious labor, as soon as possible, beyond the
necessity of federal support.
'Let your conduct among your late enemies be such as will elicit their
friendship.
'By assisting me to carry out the magnanimous policy of our government
you will soon have peace and security restored to your community, and
happiness and plenty to yourselves and your families.
'By order of
'COL. H. MATTSON, Commanding.
'P. E. FOLSOM, Lieutenant and Post Adjutant.'
"In a remarkably short time the news of the policy thus announced spread
to the most remote parts of the district, and had a very beneficial
effect. It inspired hope and confidence everywhere. The disloyal people
came out of their hiding places, and, with apparent sincerity and
gratitude, took the oath of allegiance, and went to work as good
citizens to perform their part in the work of reconstruction. Union men
and rebels shook hands over the bloody chasm, and agreed to bury the
past and work together for a better future.
"Soon another class of people came in large numbers to seek help and
protection from the Union forces. It was the poverty-stricken old men,
and the women and children who had lost their natural protectors. It
was a sight sad enough to move the stoutest hearts to look at their
helplessness and misery, and I never had a more pleasant duty to perform
than that of relieving their wants at the expense of our generous
government. The department commander had placed a steamboat at my
disposal, and given me unlimited power to draw on the commissary stores
at Duvall's Bluff. That steamer made regular trips with supplies for
all who were actually in need, and most of the applicants returned to
their homes with plenty of flour, bacon, salt, seed, corn and other
necessaries, with a government mule sometimes thrown in to carry
the load home, and there was no distinction made between rebels and
Unionists, except that the former were placed on their good behavior as
to their future conduct. It was in this work that our soldiers,--officers
and men,--showed without exception, that trait of character which
entitles them to the name of exemplary citizens as well as exemplary
soldiers, which they had previously earned in a service of four years.
They never forgot that the conquered inhabitants were our own people,
and members of the same great republic.
"After a while our picket lines were withdrawn, and only enough guards
posted to take care of the public property. Citizens and soldiers
mingled freely in social intercourse, not as conquerors and conquered,
but as friends and equals, our men interesting themselves in everything
that tended to the welfare of the citizens, often helping them in their
work and business, and always treating the helpless with gallantry and
tenderness. On the Fourth of July citizens and soldiers, ex-rebels
and Union men, to the number of many hundreds, met under the stars
and stripes, in a lovely grove, to celebrate the day around an
old-fashioned barbecue, and, for nearly two days and a night, enjoyed
a feast of brotherly love and good will, all proud of the old banner,
and happy to be again united as one people.
"During the summer elections were held for town and county officers, and
as soon as such officers had qualified, the soldiers, even more readily
than the citizens themselves, did all in their power to uphold their
authority. In many instances good penmen and accountants among the
soldiers gave their services gratuitously to help the newly-elected
civil officers start their books and accounts. To the honor of the
rebels, especially the returned soldiers, I must say that they behaved
in a most exemplary manner, and accepted the situation with good grace
and acted most cordially and loyally toward us. The Freedmen's Bureau
was not established in that district during my time of command, but
I was informed by a friend, Maj. J. M. Bowler, who had command
the following winter, that the planters generally yielded to the
requirements of that department as soon as it was established; that they
made fair contracts with the liberated slaves and strictly and carefully
observed them, and were in all respects considerate toward the freedmen
generally. Of course, I do not mean to say that all the citizens behaved
so well. There were exceptions, even in the first days of
reconstruction, and those exceptions were nearly all by the men who had
never faced the Union soldiers in open battle, but had either skulked or
resorted to guerilla warfare. But I do mean to say that in those early
days, before President Johnson had began to show his final hand, the
rebels were disposed to accept the situation in a manly and loyal way,
and that, if the policy inaugurated by the Union army had been adhered
to, the country would probably have been saved from the Ku-Klux and
other horrors of a later period.
"One strange fact was deeply impressed upon my mind during the time of
my command in Northeastern Arkansas, namely, the genuine regret and
sorrow among the returning rebel soldiers over President Lincoln's
death. They not only respected him, but actually regarded him as a
friend, because they believed him to be kind and just; so that, whatever
measures he might have adopted, had he lived, they believed that they
could have submitted to them with full confidence that it would be for
the best. I can not better illustrate that feeling, as it was daily
manifested to me, than by comparing it to the faith and confidence of
erring children to an offended but loving father.
"The most noted and influential rebel in the district at that time was,
undoubtedly, Gen. Jeff. Thompson. On the 3d of June this noted general
arrived at my headquarters at Jacksonport, pursuant to previous
arrangements, to surrender his command, consisting of eight thousand
officers and men, who began to crowd in on that and the following day in
great numbers. They were the hardest looking soldiers I have ever seen.
Jeff. Thompson himself was a man of commanding appearance, and a perfect
gentleman. In my journal of that day I have described him as follows:
'He is a tall, sinewy, weather-beaten man, a queer looking genius,
dressed in a suit of snowy white, from the plume in his hat to the heel
of his boot, and with a white sword-belt and white gloves. He is a
clever chap, full of fun, telling great yarns, and an incessant talker.'
I should judge he was about forty-five years old. On the third day after
his arrival the troops had all assembled, and the surrender took place
in due form. A staff officer from the Department of Missouri and another
from the Department of Arkansas witnessed the proceedings and received
the documents. When all was finished, Jeff. Thompson had his men
assemble on the levee in front of a steamboat, from the cabin-deck of
which he delivered his farewell address. I stood by his side while he
spoke, and expected every moment to see him pierced by some
well-directed bullet from the crowd on shore, but he was allowed to
finish his address without interruption, after which the men slunk out
of sight, and before evening the whole motley crowd had left the town
with the determination, as I verily believe, to follow the good advice
of their general. The address deserves a place among our papers, and I
will read it, as it appeared a few weeks later in Harper's Magazine,
from a _verbatim_ report made by one of my officers. He said:
'Many of the eight thousand men I now see around me, very many of you,
have been skulking for the last three years in the swamps within a few
miles of your own homes,--skulking duty,--and during that time have
not seen your own children. I see many faces about me that have not
been seen by mortal man for the last three years; and what have you
been doing all that time? Why, you have been lying in the swamps until
the moss has grown six inches long on your backs, and such men call
themselves "chivalrous soldiers." A few weeks ago Gen. Reynolds sent a
flag of truce to my headquarters, and I sent out to gather a
respectable force to meet those officers, and not one of you
responded. A few days later, when Col. Davis and Capt. Bennett, of
Gen. Dodge's staff, bore dispatches to me from that general, I
attempted again to call about me enough of you to make a respectable
show, and how many of these brave men reported at the call? One
sore-eyed man with green goggles. But you rally like brave and gallant
men around Uncle Sam's commissary stores, and I have now come to
surrender you, and hope that you will make better citizens than you
have soldiers.
* * * * *
'Those of you who had arms, with a few exceptions, have left them at
home, and those who had government horses have failed to report them
here. Now let me say to you, one and all, those of you who have
retained your arms, as soon as you get home take them to the nearest
military post and deliver them up, or burn them, or get rid of them in
some manner, for as sure as there is a God in heaven, if they are
found in your houses, just so sure will your houses be burned to the
ground; and I hope to God every one of you who keep good arms or
military property of any kind in your houses will be hanged; and you
will, too.
* * * * *
'But I want you to go home and work hard and take care of your
families. Work early and late, and get up at night and see if your
crops are growing. Above all things avoid political discussions. If
any man says "nigger" to you, swear that you never knew or saw one in
your life. We have talked about the niggers for forty years, and have
been out-talked. We have fought four years for the niggers, and have
been d----d badly whipped, and now it is not "your put." The Yankees
have won the nigger and will do what they please with him, and you
have no say in the matter. If they want him they will take him; and if
they say that you must keep him, you have to do it, and no mistake. I
tell you that you have no say in the matter, and you oughtn't to have
any. Go home and stay there. Don't go anywhere but to mill. Don't go
to church, for the minister will put knots and mischief in your heads,
and get you into trouble. Be good citizens, and then those of you who
have been good, honest and brave soldiers need have nothing to fear;
but I warn those of you who have been nothing but sneaking, cowardly
jayhawkers, cutthroats and thieves, that a just retribution awaits
you, and I hope to God that the federal authorities will hang you,
wherever and whenever they find you, and they will do it, sure.
* * * * *
'Do not complain if you are not permitted to have a voice in elections
and civil affairs. You have forfeited all such rights, and it now
becomes you to submit to such laws and regulations as the federal
authorities may deem proper to enact. I believe and know that they
will do the best they can for you, especially if you show henceforth
that you now desire to merit their confidence by strict obedience to
the laws where you may reside.
'We are conquered and subjected; we have no rights, but must accept
such privileges and favors as the government may see proper to bestow
upon us. Again I say, go home; attend to your business, and try to
raise a new generation of boys that shall become better men than you
have been.'
"Jeff. Thompson lived many years after that day, a good and loyal
citizen. He was a brave and generous man, and had always treated our
prisoners with humanity whenever they had fallen into his hands. His
advice to his soldiers echoed the sentiments of the better class of the
rebels in the district at that time.
"We remained there the whole summer, always impatient to be mustered out
and return to our own homes, but never deviating from the orderly and
friendly position first taken. Many of the men formed friendships and
other connections that have lasted ever since. Some of them returned
after their muster out, and are still counted among the best citizens
of that state; some formed engagements with the country girls, and went
back to marry them. One of my young captains, a fine St. Paul boy,
brought with the regiment to Minneapolis, as his bride, the most
beautiful woman, as well as the most bitter rebel, of that portion of
Arkansas, and I am glad to say that, although she soon returned with her
gallant husband to her native state, where they still reside, she is
now, and has been ever since, as true and loyal to our banner and our
cause as any of our Northern wives and mothers.
"I would not have it understood that all our work was so pleasant and
peaceful. Sometimes we had to deal with tough cases of both sexes, and
then the iron hand of power was freely used to restrain, but seldom to
punish. As a relic of old slave times I will relate one incident of many
that came under my observation.
"One day a very tidy negro woman came and reported that her late master
had recently killed her husband. I sent for the former master. He was a
leading physician, a man of fine address and culture, who lived in an
elegant mansion near the city. He sat down and told me the story, nearly
word for word as the woman did. It was substantially as follows: Tom,
the negro, had been his body-servant since both were children, and,
since his freedom, still remained in the same service. Tom had a boy
about eight years old. This boy had done some mischief, and I (said the
doctor) called him in and gave him a good flogging. Tom was outside and
heard the boy scream, and after a while he pushed open the door and took
the boy from me, telling me that I had whipped him enough. He brought
the boy into his own cabin, and then started for town. I took my gun and
ran after him. When he saw me coming he started on a run and I shot him,
of course. 'Wouldn't you have done the same?' he asked me with an
injured look. The killing of his negro for such an offence seemed so
right and natural to him that he was perfectly astonished when I
informed him that he would have to answer to the charge of murder before
a military commission at Little Rock, where he was at once sent for
trial. What a great change in sentiment a quarter of a century has
produced! Our children will never learn to realize what a curse slavery
was, even while some of them were in their cradles.
"It has been said that the old soldiers occasionally did a little
foraging on their own hook, while in the enemy's country, and I rather
think they did; but I wish to state most solemnly, that whatever bad
habits the boys might have had in that respect before the surrender of
the Confederate army, they reformed at once after that event, most
thoroughly and sincerely, and during the whole summer of 1865, although
scattered over a wide country, and almost free from military duty and
restraint, there was never a complaint made against a man in my command,
for depredation of any kind, and I verily believe that the rights of
property, even down to the beloved shoat and chicken, were held as
sacred by the Union soldiers in our district during that time as those
rights are ordinarily held in any well-governed country during times of
peace. All things considered I am fully convinced that the excellent
conduct of our soldiers in the South during the early days of
reconstruction, when the army took a prominent part in that work, did
more to establish law and order and to foster friendly and loyal
sentiments towards the Union, than all the laws and constitutional
amendments enacted for that purpose. Had the great and noble Lincoln
lived, or even if President Johnson had remained true to the principles
of his early life, and left the Union soldiers at liberty to carry out
the firm but humane policy of reconstruction which they inaugurated
under the inspiration of Grant and Sherman, we would have had not only
a united country, but a loyal and law abiding people in the South a
quarter of a century ago, because the Union soldier was the best citizen
and the best teacher of good citizenship. Armies of other nations have
achieved victories as great as ours, other soldiers than ours have been
patient, obedient, enduring and brave, but none in the world's history
have shown such greatness in civic virtues as the Union soldiers of the
war of the Rebellion.
"In the beginning of September, 1865, the regiment was ordered home, and
on September 16th it was mustered out at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, on
which occasion the following general order was read:
'General Order No. 16.
'_Officers and Men of the Third Minnesota Regiment_:
'After four years of active service this regiment is about to be
disbanded. Before another day you will all have received your
honorable discharges and be on your way to your quiet, happy homes.
The familiar sound of the bugle and drum will no longer be heard among
us. The "Stars and Stripes," which we have all learned to love, will
no longer wave over our ranks.
'You have toiled, struggled and suffered much during the last four
years, yet to those who are now here to enjoy the triumph over our
enemies and the peace and prosperity of our country, the reward is
ample. I know that we will all regard the acts of those years as the
noblest and proudest of our lives. For those, our noble comrades, who
have fallen victims in the struggle, let us always, with the most
tender affection, cherish their memory.
'You have served your country nobly and faithfully in every field
where duty called you, and I am proud to assert that on every occasion
and in every locality, from the northwestern frontier, against the
savage Indian foes, to the deathly swamps of the Yazoo and Arkansas
valleys, against the haughty Southern rebels,--wherever this regiment
has been, its rank and file, its bone and sinew, the true
representatives of our noble young state, have ever reflected honor
and credit on that state.
'As your commanding officer I am greatly indebted to you all, officers
and men, for your admirable conduct on all occasions, for your ready
obedience of orders, and for your fidelity, patriotism and
perseverance in the discharge of all your toilsome duties.
'In bidding you farewell, I give you all my most hearty thanks. May
peace, prosperity and happiness ever be your reward.
'For me, the greatest honor,--greater far than I ever expected to
achieve,--is the fact of having so long commanded, and at last led
home in triumph and peace, the always dear and noble Third Minnesota
Regiment.
'H. MATTSON,
'Colonel Commanding Regiment.
'P. E. FOLSOM, Lieutenant and Adjutant.'"
During this war the Union army had mustered in 2,883,000 men, 400,000 of
whom had lost their lives. To this army Minnesota contributed 25,052, or
about one-seventh of her entire population. Of this number 2,500 were
killed or died of sickness during the war, and it is calculated that
5,000 died since the war on account of wounds and diseases contracted
during service. The Third regiment had, during four years' service, a
total enrollment of 1,417, of which number there were left only 432 men
when we returned in September, 1865. The war cost the Union about two
billion, seven hundred million dollars. The sacrifice of gold and blood
was not too great. Not only America, but the whole human race has gained
more through the victories of our army than can be estimated in gold and
blood. And the Scandinavians of the West may justly feel proud of the
part they took in this struggle for liberty and human rights.