Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/390

 330 HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI bank of the river south of St. Viueent's Col- lege. There was a Hue of ritie pits near the place now owned by Dr. Fullerton. It was determined by those in command to make an effort to drive General Thompson out of the Southeast and if possible to cap- ture liim and disperse his forces. It was planned to send General Prentiss from Iron- ton to Cape Girardeau and then south, while General Grant was to cross the river at Cairo to Belmont and march to the west from that point. However, when General Prentiss reached Jackson he received orders from Gen- eral Grant that he was to halt his troops at Jackson. He disregarded the orders and marched on to Cape Girardeau. Here he was met ))y Grant in person and ordered to return to Jackson. General Prentiss believed him- self to be the senior officer and was quite in- dignant at these orders. He returned with his men to Jackson and left the command and went to St. Louis. This was the end of the pro.jeeted expedition for the capture of Gen- eral Thompson. It should be said of this attempt to drive the Confederates out of Southeast Missouri that while the battles and skirmishes were not in themselves of very great importance, the attempt did have one result that is not usu- ally considered. About the time that General Fremont took charge of the western depart- ment the invasion of Confederates from Ar- kansas into ilissouri was threatened. The in- vasion was supposed to come by way of Springfield as it afterwards did come under the command of General Price. There was also the invasion that was spoken of in the direction of Birds Point and when General Fremont assumed command he was con- fi'onted with the question whether to defend Southeast ilissouri or to defend Southwest Missouri. He elected to make his principal attempt against the forces invading Southeast Missouri and accordingly he sent a fleet of eight steamers carrying infantry and artil- lery to Birds Point and then returned them to St. Louis, finding nothing in particular for them to do. It was this expedition that re- sulted in part in the defeat of Lyon at Wil- son's Creek. AVhen the Federal forces were defeated at Wilson's Creek it produced throughout the state a feeling that the Confederates were winning and a comparative depression among the friends of the Union. There arose a great deal of excitement and confusion within the borders of the state and on the 30th of Au- gust, General Fremont issued a proclamation declaring martial law and appointed J. Mc- Kinstry, a major in the United States army, as Provost Marshal of the state. He declared in the proclamation that the Union forces held a line extending from Leavenworth, Kan- sas, by way of Jefferson City, Rolla and Iron- ton, to Cape Girardeau and that all persons taken within the limits of this line with arms in their hands should be tried in court mar- tial and shot, and that the property, real and personal, of all persons in Missouri who should be proved to have taken sides with the enemies of the Federal government should be confiscated to the public use and their slaves, if they had any, should be declared free men, and that persons who by' speech of substance should be found guilty of giving aid to the Confederates in any way were warned of ill consequences to themselves. The provost marshal then issued an order to carry into effect the proclamation of Gen- eral Fremont and after issuing this order it became necessary for all persons traveling to carry with them a pennit from the provost marshal. It would seem that martial law was thus extended over more than half of the