Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 24.djvu/42

 This vote broke down the strength of the secessionists and virtually turned the State over to Blair and his Home Guards. There were 65,000 stand of arms in the Federal Arsenal in St. Louis. It was the purpose of the State authorities to seize these arms, but the or- ganizations of Blair prevented. Finally Blair rebelled against the power of the State and under his advice the State troops of Missouri were captured on May 10, 1861, without waiting for the necessary orders from Washington. This put an end to Southern supremacy and saved Missouri and Kentucky to the Union. Blair became a Major-General in the Union army and commanded the 17th corps on Sherman's march to the sea.

XI. UNIVERSITY MEN AND CONFEDERATE EDUCATION.

Such was the position of the alumni of the University in the field and in the legislative and executive branches of the general govern- ment of the Confederacy. Their work for Confederate Education was not less noticeable. Archibald D. Murphey was the first man to agitate the question of public schools in North Carolina. Bartlett Yancey drew the bill under which the public schools were organized, and Calvin H. Wiley was the organizer. These were all University men. Wiley succeeded in giving to North Carolina the best public school system that there was in the South before the war. He was Superintendent of Public Instruction in North Carolina during the war, and through his efforts, with the assistance of Governor Vance, the public schools of the State were kept open during the whole of the momentous period. In his report to Governor Vance in 1863* he says: "It is a subject of devout gratitude to one to be able to announce that our common schools still live and are full of glorious promise. Through all this dark night of storm their cheerful radi- ance has been seen on every hill and in every valley of our dear old State; and while the whole continent reels with the shock of terrible and ruthless war, covering the face of nature with ruin and desola- tion, there are here scattered through the wilderness hundreds of humming hives where thousands of youthful minds are busily learn- ing those peaceful arts which, under the blessing of God, are to pre- serve our civilization and to aid in perpetuating the liberty and inde- pendence for which this generation is manfully contending." In the same year (1863) fifty counties reported 35,495 pupils, and fifty-four counties received $240,685.38 for schools. It is probable that there were then not less than 50,000 children in the State attending school.