Send Military Support

United States Secretary of State Lewis Cass under President Buchanan resigned his office December 13^th 1860 over the failure to send troops to stop the Southern states from succeeding.

Lewis Cass was born October 9^th 1782 in Exeter, New Hampshire the son of Jonathan and Molly (Gilman) Cass.  He attended the Phillips Exeter Academy in his home town, before moving with his family to Marietta, Ohio.  He read for the law and became a lawyer.  Cass was a member of the Freemasons, becoming Grand Master in 1826 of the Grand Lodge of Michigan.  He served as the Governor of the Michigan Territory from 1813 to 1831.  Cass became the Secretary of War under President Andrew Jackson August 1831, and formulated and implemented Jackson’s Indian policies.  He went on to represent Michigan as a US Senator, serving as chair of the Committee on Military Affairs from 1845 to 1848.  Cass ran for President in 1848, supporting the Doctrine of Popular Sovereignty, which called for the people who lived in the territories to decide for themselves whether to or not to be slave holding areas.  His nomination caused a split in the Democratic Party.  Cass lost the election to Zachary Taylor.  He went back to the Senate, serving until 1857.

Cass began serving in 1857 as Secretary of State for President James Buchanan.  Cass resigned from his post December 13^th 1860 because of Buchanan’s failure to send troop to protect Federal interest in the southern states.  He felt the action might have helped to avert the Southern states from succeeding.

Cass died June 17^th 1866 in Detroit, Michigan.  He is buried the Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit, Michigan.

The 16th President

Abraham Lincoln became the 16^th President of the United States on March 4^th 1861.

Abraham Lincoln was elected president on November 6^th 1860, between then and his inauguration on March 4^th 1861 four states had seceded from the Union.  Lincoln began traveling to Washington, DC by train on February 11^th 1861 with his wife Mary and their three sons.  During the next 10 days the train made numerous stops, ending with late night train through Baltimore, Maryland to avoid an assassination plot.

The outgoing President James Buchanan arrived at the Capital just before 1 pm.  Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger B Taney administered the presidential oath of office to Abraham Lincoln shortly after one on March 4^th 1861.

A Missouri Democrat

William Cecil Price was named United States Treasure on February 28^th 1860 by President James Buchanan.

William Cecil Price was born in 1816 in Russell County, Virginia.  He attended Knoxville College for a time, before returning to Missouri where he worked several jobs while reading for the law.  Price became the Green County Deputy Sheriff in 1840, before being admitted to the bar in 1844.  Price was an active member of the Missouri Democratic Party, and was among those who felt the Missouri Compromise should be repealed.  He supported Claiborne Fox Jackson, and wrote the “Jackson Resolutions” that were read at the Missouri General Assembly in 1848.  The Resolutions stated people in any state or territory of the United States had the right to determine if they would permit slavery, and that any act of Congress against this would allow the slaveholding states to band together.  It was at this time that Price met Judah P Benjamin and Jefferson Davis.  In 1854 Price was elected to the Missouri State Senate, and in 1859 he represented Missouri at the United States General Land Office.

United States President James Buchanan appointed Price the Treasurer of the United States on February 28^th 1860.  When the Civil War started Price resigned his office on March 21^st 1861 and joined the Confederate brigade commanded by his cousin General Sterling Price.  At the Battle of Pea Ridge in March 1862 Price was taken prisoner and spent eight months as a POW at Alton, Illinois.  He was re-assigned by Confederate President Jefferson Davis to recruiting duty in Missouri and promoted to Major.  In 1864 Price resigned his commission.

He moved to Arkansas where he tried farming.  When the war ended Price returned to Missouri and the law.  As the years past Price who was lifelong member of the Methodist Church became intensely interested in theology, and was described as a religious zealous.  He died in 1901.

Another web site to look at for more information is Kansas Bogus Legislature

160 Acres Of Free Land

On May 20th 1862 Abraham Lincoln signed into law the Homestead Act.

The Homestead Act was designed to settle the undeveloped land west of the Mississippi River, held by the United States government. The Act passed Congress in 1860, but President James Buchanan vetoed it under pressure from the South. The Homestead Act was sponsored in Congress by Galusha A Grow and supported by the Republican party. It offered applicants a free title to 160 acres of land, if they fulfilled three requirements. First they has to file an application, then make improvements to land, and finally file the deed to the land. The applicant had be at least 21 years old, have never fought against the United States government, and had to live on the land for five years while making improvements. President Abraham Lincoln sign the Homestead Act into law on May 20th 1862.

About 40% of those who applied for a homestead completed the process and obtained the deed to their land.

Another web site for more information about this subject is Homestead Act of 1862 and Teaching With Documents: The Homestead Act of 1862

What To Do With Texas

Union General David E Twiggs surrendered Texas on February 18th 1861.

The Texas Secession Convention made a decision to withdraw from the United States on February 1st 1861. At that point the United States’ Department of Texas had twenty military posts strung out through the state. These posts held about 2,100 soldiers. Union General David E Twiggs was the commander of the Department of Texas. Twiggs understanding the anti-Union feeling in Texas, wrote to his commander General Winfield Scott on December 13th 1860 looking for instructions as to what to do in the event of secession, and was told only not to wage war. Twiggs wrote again on December 27th 1860, and then again about a week latter, "Texas will certainly go out of the Union the latter part of this month. I respectfully ask instructions as to what disposition will be made of troops now in this department... arrangements should be made at once..." After still not getting instructions Twiggs wrote the adjutant general on January 20th 1861, telling him that since the government did not wish him to wage war against Texas, he would surrender all government property if the Governor of Texas demanded it.

About a thousand armed Texans surrounded Twiggs’ garrison at San Antonio on February 18th 1861. They forced Twiggs to surrender. The Texans allowed the Union soldiers to leave Texas with their arms. However the Confederate government of Texas took possession of $1.6 million dollars of United State property, this included 20 military installation, 1,900 muskets, 950 horses, 500 wagons, 400 pistols, 44 cannon, and 2 ammunition magazines. Because Twiggs surrendered his command in Texas, he was branded a traitor. President James Buchanan dismissed Twiggs from the Union Army on March 1st 1861. Ten weeks latter Twiggs excepted a commission in the Confederate Army as a Major General.

To Save The Union

The United States Congress unanimously passed a resolution on February 11th 1861, guaranteeing noninterference with slavery in any state.

The Thirty-sixth United State Congress were seated during the last two years of the James Buchanan’s presidency. The House had a Republican plurality and the Senate a Democratic majority. Even though there was a strong abolitionist movement in the Northern states, most politicians felt that the country's highest priority was to save the Union, not to put an end to slavery. With a goal of holding the Union together, and keeping the remaining eight slave state loyal to the Union, the United States House of Representatives unanimously approved a resolution promising no interference with slavery in any state in the Union on February 11th 1861.

A Month Long Infection

Confederate General Carnot Posey was mortally wounded at the Battle of Bristoe Station, and died November 13th 1863.

Carnot Posey the son of John Brooke and Elizabeth [Screven] Posey was born August 5th 1818 near Woodville, Wilkinson County, Mississippi. He studied the law at the University of Virginia, setting up a practice in Woodville. In May 1840 he married Mary Collins and they had two children before she died four years latter.

Posey excepted a commission of First Lieutenant in the 1st Mississippi Rifles at the start of the Mexican American War. He was wounded at the Battle of Buena Vista. Following the war he returned to Woodville, where he married Jane White. Posey took an appointment as the District Attorney of Southern Mississippi from President James Buchanan, a position he held until 1861.

When the Civil War began Posey became the Colonel of the 16th Mississippi. He was wounded at the Battle of Cross Keys during the Valley Campaign. His regiment successfully repelled an Union attack at Fredericksburg, and Posey received a promotion to Brigadier General. His brigade had limited action at the Battle of Chancellorsville. As a part of General Ambrose Powell Hill’s third Corps; Posey’s brigade took part of the July 2nd 1863 Battle of Gettysburg in the fight on Cemetery Ridge. He was wounded in left leg at the Battle of Bristoe Station on October 14th 1863. He received medical attention at Culpeper Court House, but the leg became infected. After fighting the infection for a month, Posey died at the house of a friend, Dr John Davis in Charlottesville, Virginia November 13th 1863. He is buried in the cemetery at the University of Virginia.

Splitting The Democrates

Breaking with other Democrats on December 9th 1857, Stephen Douglas come out against the Lecompton Constitution.

The Lecompton Constitution was the second of four proposed Kansas state constitutions. It was written as a reaction to the 1855 Topeka Constitution’s anti-slavery position. The Kansas territorial legislature, which was mostly made up of slave owners made Lecompton Kansas the capital in September 1857 with the intent to write a rival constitution. Free State’res who made up the majority of settlers boycotted the vote. President James Buchanan appointed Robert J Walker the territorial Governor, and although her was pro-slavery he refused implement the Lecompton Constitution and resigned.

The Lecompton Constitution upheld slavery in the future state of Kansas and protected at rights of slave owners. It went even further by adding a referendum to allow more slave to be brought into the territory, while barring free backs from living in Kansas. Both the Lecompton and Topeka Constitution were placed for a vote before the people of the Kansas Territory. The vote came down to the issue of a Constitution with Slavery or without. Both sides boycotted the vote for differing reasons, and there were quite a few irregularities in the vote with over 3,000 ballets being thrown out. So both constitutions were sent to the United States Congress for approval.

The President supported the Lecompton Constitution before Congress. The Southern Democrats supported President Buchanan, but the Northern Democrats; who were led by Stephen A Douglas sided with the Republicans in Congress. The defeat of the Lecompton Constitution split the Democratic party which lead to Abraham Lincoln being elected President in 1860.

American Statesman

An American Statesman and lawyer Jeremiah Sullivan Black died on August 19th 1883.

Jeremiah Sullivan Black was born in Stony Creek, PA January 10th 1810. He was a basically self educated man, and admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar before he came of age. He worked his way up to become one of America’s leading lawyers. From 1851 to 1857 he was on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. In 1857 President James Buchanan appointed Black to be his Attorney General. At the end of President Buchanan’s term, from December 17th 1860 to March 4th 1861, Black served as the US Secretary of State. He argued during this time that Fort Sumter needed to be reinforced and better defended, that it was un-constitutional for a state to secede, but it was also illegal for the Federal Government to coerce a state. President Buchanan nominated Black to the Supreme Court, but he was defeated by single vote. At this point Black severed for two years as the Reporter of Decisions of the US Supreme Court, before he return to private practice.

Fallowing the Civil War, Black was strong opponent of the Congressional view of Reconstruction. He even drafted the message that President Andrew Johnson gave when vetoing the Reconstruction Act of March 2nd 1867. For a time he was President Johnson’s counsel during his Impeachment trial. He died August 19th 1883 at the age 72 in York County, Pennsylvania.

The Faster Mail

A lone rider left the Pikes Peak Stable in St Joseph, Missouri on April 3rd 1860 carrying saddlebags filled with mail. Riders would carry these pieces of mail two thousand miles to Sacramento, California.

It took stage coaches some twenty days to travel from St Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California. For the bankers and merchants on the West Coast this was just to long and so the Pony Express came into being. Feeling that the service would be greatly used Senator W M Gwin, Alexander Majors and Daniel E Phelps started the express. Six hundred horses were bought and seventy-five riders who could ride well, shoot straight and weighed under 110 pounds were hired. One of these men was Henry Wallace, who was the first rider on the Pony express. He carried a message from President James Buchanan to the Governeor of California. This message along with the other mail made the cross country trip in ten days.

The Pony Express would not have along life. Men were already string telegraph wire along the path the Express traveled. By 1862 the telegraph had reached California and the Pony Express was dead. Among the famous of the Pony Express riders were Buffalo Bill Cody and Wild Bill Hickok.

Twin Relics of Barbarism

In Utah March 23rd 1858 Brigham Young ordered the faithful to move to Provo, Utah and prepare for their homes in Salt Lake City to be burned as part of his “Sebastopol Policy”

From 1857 to 1858 what is known as the Utah War occurred between the United States Government and the Mormon settlers in the Utah Territory. The election in 1856 between Democrat James Buchanan and Republican John C Freemont was close enough to shake the Democratic Party. The Republicans charged the Democrats during that election as being soft on the “Twin Relics of Barbarism”; polygamy and slavery. In order to stand up to the charge Buchanan had do something, he decided his only political option was to replace Brigham Young as the governor of the Utah Territory and make a stand against polygamy. Alfred Cumming was appointed the new governor and sent to Utah under an Army escort.

The first troops to march for Utah were lead by General William S Harney, but they were forced to return to Kansas. Then a detachment under Colonel Edmund Alexander got started, only to meet up with and give command to Colonel Albert Sidney Johnston. The Utah militia known as the Nauvoo Legion under the command of Lot Smith harassed the federals. Johnston decided to settle for the winter in the burned out Fort Bridger.

When spring arrived the United States Army was re-supplied and reinforcements arrived. With negotiation underway Brigham Young accepted the replacement governor; bring peace back to the territory.