Although Tennessee was technically still in the Union until a referendum on a declaration of independence on June 8, on Thursday, May 16, 1861, the state was formally admitted to the Confederacy in a ceremony in Montgomery.
In Kentucky, the legislature passed a declaration of neutrality, stating "that this State and the citizens thereof should take no part in the
civil war now being waged, except as mediators and friends to the
belligerent parties."
Showing posts with label Tennessee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tennessee. Show all posts
Monday, May 16, 2011
Saturday, May 07, 2011
150 Years Ago -- Tennessee
On Tuesday, May 7, 1861, the state of Tennessee, technically still in the Union until a referendum on June 8, moved closer to secession with the legislature approving of a league with the Confederacy. Clashes erupted between Unionists and secessionists in Knoxville, leaving one man dead.
Sunday, May 01, 2011
150 Years Ago -- North Carolina and Tennessee
On Wednesday, May 1, 1861, the four soldiers of the 6th Massachusetts Regiment killed in the Baltimore riot were buried with full military honors in Boston.
Also on this date, North Carolina began the process of leaving the Union. The governor, John Ellis, called for a special session of the legislature soon after Fort Sumter. They convened on this date and set an election for May 13 for a convention that was to convene on May 20 to consider a secession ordinance.
Tennessee was also taking steps to leave the Union. On this date, the General Assembly authorized Governor Isham Harris to appoint commissioners to conclude a military league with the Confederacy. The commissioners were quickly appointed and just as quickly drew up an agreement with Henry Hilliard, Jefferson Davis's envoy to Nashville. The agreement was submitted to the legislature for approval on May 7.
Also on this date, North Carolina began the process of leaving the Union. The governor, John Ellis, called for a special session of the legislature soon after Fort Sumter. They convened on this date and set an election for May 13 for a convention that was to convene on May 20 to consider a secession ordinance.
Tennessee was also taking steps to leave the Union. On this date, the General Assembly authorized Governor Isham Harris to appoint commissioners to conclude a military league with the Confederacy. The commissioners were quickly appointed and just as quickly drew up an agreement with Henry Hilliard, Jefferson Davis's envoy to Nashville. The agreement was submitted to the legislature for approval on May 7.
Monday, April 25, 2011
150 Years Ago -- Strange Times in Washington, Missouri and Tennessee
Thursday, April 25, 1861
Washington had been in a state of siege since the Baltimore riot on April 19. Railroads and telegraph lines to the capital had been cut, isolating it from the rest of the nation. No orders could get out; the only news that could get in was rumors -- mostly of an impending Rebel invasion.
The 6th Massachusetts Regiment had made it through the riot to Washington, but now the capital was cut off. More troops were on the way, but there was no news of them. Inspecting the troops that had been wounded in the riot, a despondent Lincoln told them, "I don't believe there is any North. The 7th (New York) Regiment is a myth. Rhode Island is not known in our geography any longer. You are the only Northern realities."
The 8th Massachusetts Regiment, led by General Benjamin Butler, had followed closely on the hills of the 6th Massachusetts. Hearing of the disturbance in Baltimore, Butler had detrained his regiment, the 8th Massachusetts, at the head of Chesapeake Bay, commandeered a steamboat, and headed for Annapolis, Maryland. After a short delay coming ashore, these troops were put to work reopening a route to Washington, repairing the railroad and the equipment.
The first troops sent forward were the 7th New York. They entered Washington on April 25, followed closely by troops from Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The route was open and Washington's siege was lifted.
Missouri would get out of hand very quickly. The governor, Claiborne Jackson, was trying to take the state out of the Union. In fact, he had worked out a plot with Jefferson Davis to capture the St. Louis Arsenal. Davis was sending cannons. Jackson would call the state militia into camp for drill and instruction. They would camp near the arsenal and take the facility when the cannons arrived.
Frank Blair and Nathaniel Lyon were determined to keep the state in the Union. Blair, the youngest son of the prominent Blair family, had begun forming his own militia, the Unionist Home Guard, composed mainly of German immigrants. Lyon, the commander of the arsenal's garrison, was temporarily in command of the Department of the West. General William Harney had been called away to Washington. Lyon quickly began inducting Blair's Germans into the United States Army.
Blair and Lyon knew that Jackson was after the arsenal. It was one of the most important military installations in the country -- a large complex dedicated to the manufacture and storage of arms and munitions. They would soon take very proactive steps to keep it out of the hands of the Confederates.
Illinois Governor Richard Yates enters the story on this date. He too was worried about the security of the arsenal. Working with Blair and Lyon, he sent Illinois militia into Missouri. On the night of April 25, they removed 20,000 muskets and 110,000 cartridges and transported them to the Springfield Armory. Blair kept enough of the muskets to arm the Home Guard.
On February 9, voters in Tennessee had voted against holding a convention to consider secession. Now, after Fort Sumter and Lincoln's call for troops, the sentiment had changed. Most of the Unionism in the state had simply evaporated.
Governor Isham Harris called the legislature into special session on this date. He recommended that the legislators declare Tennessee independence and enter into an alliance with the Confederacy. He also proposed that they pass "such legislation as will put the State upon war footing immediately." The legislature went into secret session to consider Governor Harris's proposals.
Washington had been in a state of siege since the Baltimore riot on April 19. Railroads and telegraph lines to the capital had been cut, isolating it from the rest of the nation. No orders could get out; the only news that could get in was rumors -- mostly of an impending Rebel invasion.
The 6th Massachusetts Regiment had made it through the riot to Washington, but now the capital was cut off. More troops were on the way, but there was no news of them. Inspecting the troops that had been wounded in the riot, a despondent Lincoln told them, "I don't believe there is any North. The 7th (New York) Regiment is a myth. Rhode Island is not known in our geography any longer. You are the only Northern realities."
The 8th Massachusetts Regiment, led by General Benjamin Butler, had followed closely on the hills of the 6th Massachusetts. Hearing of the disturbance in Baltimore, Butler had detrained his regiment, the 8th Massachusetts, at the head of Chesapeake Bay, commandeered a steamboat, and headed for Annapolis, Maryland. After a short delay coming ashore, these troops were put to work reopening a route to Washington, repairing the railroad and the equipment.
The first troops sent forward were the 7th New York. They entered Washington on April 25, followed closely by troops from Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The route was open and Washington's siege was lifted.
Missouri would get out of hand very quickly. The governor, Claiborne Jackson, was trying to take the state out of the Union. In fact, he had worked out a plot with Jefferson Davis to capture the St. Louis Arsenal. Davis was sending cannons. Jackson would call the state militia into camp for drill and instruction. They would camp near the arsenal and take the facility when the cannons arrived.
Frank Blair and Nathaniel Lyon were determined to keep the state in the Union. Blair, the youngest son of the prominent Blair family, had begun forming his own militia, the Unionist Home Guard, composed mainly of German immigrants. Lyon, the commander of the arsenal's garrison, was temporarily in command of the Department of the West. General William Harney had been called away to Washington. Lyon quickly began inducting Blair's Germans into the United States Army.
Blair and Lyon knew that Jackson was after the arsenal. It was one of the most important military installations in the country -- a large complex dedicated to the manufacture and storage of arms and munitions. They would soon take very proactive steps to keep it out of the hands of the Confederates.
Illinois Governor Richard Yates enters the story on this date. He too was worried about the security of the arsenal. Working with Blair and Lyon, he sent Illinois militia into Missouri. On the night of April 25, they removed 20,000 muskets and 110,000 cartridges and transported them to the Springfield Armory. Blair kept enough of the muskets to arm the Home Guard.
On February 9, voters in Tennessee had voted against holding a convention to consider secession. Now, after Fort Sumter and Lincoln's call for troops, the sentiment had changed. Most of the Unionism in the state had simply evaporated.
Governor Isham Harris called the legislature into special session on this date. He recommended that the legislators declare Tennessee independence and enter into an alliance with the Confederacy. He also proposed that they pass "such legislation as will put the State upon war footing immediately." The legislature went into secret session to consider Governor Harris's proposals.
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
February 9, 1861: The Confederate President
On Saturday, February 9, 1861, Jefferson Davis of Mississippi was elected provisional president of the Confederate States of America. Alexander Stephens of Georgia was elected vice president.
There were no nominating conventions and no popular vote. The executive officers of the Confederacy were chosen in the proverbial smoke-filled rooms by the 38 delegates to the convention of seceded states. The votes were cast by states; each delegation cast one vote.
By unspoken agreement the delegates shied away from the radical fire-eaters who had done so much to drive the Deep South states out of the Union. They wanted to show the border states and the world that this was a nation of moderate men who had no choice but to leave the Union and form their own government.
In Tennessee, voters rejected a proposal to call a state convention to consider secession. The proposal was defeated by a vote of 68,282 to 59,449, with most of the pro-Union vote coming from the mountainous eastern part of the state.
At Pensacola, Florida, the U.S.S. Brooklyn arrived with supplies and reinforcements for Fort Pickens. These were not landed; the federal government and the State of Florida had reached an agreement that no changes would be made on either side.
There were no nominating conventions and no popular vote. The executive officers of the Confederacy were chosen in the proverbial smoke-filled rooms by the 38 delegates to the convention of seceded states. The votes were cast by states; each delegation cast one vote.
By unspoken agreement the delegates shied away from the radical fire-eaters who had done so much to drive the Deep South states out of the Union. They wanted to show the border states and the world that this was a nation of moderate men who had no choice but to leave the Union and form their own government.
In Tennessee, voters rejected a proposal to call a state convention to consider secession. The proposal was defeated by a vote of 68,282 to 59,449, with most of the pro-Union vote coming from the mountainous eastern part of the state.
At Pensacola, Florida, the U.S.S. Brooklyn arrived with supplies and reinforcements for Fort Pickens. These were not landed; the federal government and the State of Florida had reached an agreement that no changes would be made on either side.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
January 22, 1861: Jeff Davis Stops Over in Chattanooga
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| William Crutchfield |
It was Tuesday, January 22, 1861. The Deep South states had seceded and Jefferson Davis had just given an emotional farewell to his colleagues in the Senate. He was on his way home to Mississippi by train and stopped for the night in Chattanooga. He checked into the Crutchfield House, Chattanooga's finest hotel at the time, which was operated by Thomas and William Crutchfield.
A crowd gathered in the hotel dining room, imploring Davis to speak on the issues of the day. Davis obliged, giving, according to David Key, "a short talk, very moderate in character; it had nothing in it personal or offensive in expression or manner." The gist of the speech was that Mississippi should be allowed to leave the Union in peace and that Tennessee should vote for a secession convention in its upcoming election on February 9. Davis then left the room.
Accounts vary as to whether William Crutchfield, who was a very outspoken Unionist, was asked to speak to rebut Davis's arguments or just took it upon himself. Regardless, Crutchfield jumped up on a counter and delivered a scathing speech/tirade against Davis.
He began with "Behold, your future military despot..." and went downhill from there. Crutchfield accused Davis and his ilk of deserting their seats in Congress when they were in the majority and might have prevented any legislation that might have been hostile to the institutions of the South, said that instead of Davis poking his nose into the affairs of Tennessee his time might be better spent advising his fellow Mississippians to pay their state debts, and denounced all secessionists as traitors. Tennesseans, Crutchfield said, would not be "hood winked, bamboozled and dragged into your Southern, codfish, aristocratic, tory blooded, South Carolina mobocracy."
Davis, informed as to what was going on, reentered the room while Crutchfield was still speaking and began speaking the language of the code duello, asking if Crutchfield was responsible for the insults to his honor and demanding satisfaction. Davis's supporters, of which there were many in the room, had "pistols drawn and cocked for immediate use."
Most accounts of the proceedings say that violence was averted when Thomas Crutchfield dragged his brother down from the counter and out of the hotel. A short account in Louis J. DuPre's Fagots from the Camp Fire states that John W. Vaughn, the sheriff of Monroe County, Tennessee, who was traveling with Davis, "instantly, in defence of Davis' wounded honor, broke a black bottle, snatched from the shelf of the bar-room, over Crutchfield's head. The bleeding, stunned Crutchfield was borne helpless and senseless from the scene of conflict, shedding the first blood spilled in the war."
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