Monthly Archives: September 2011

Personal Note: things have been exceptionally busy in my day job the past few weeks, so there has not been a lot of time lately to write in Civil War Emancipation. Hopefully, things will improve soon as I just finished … Continue reading →

The last edition of Civil War Emancipation featured a letter, dated September 18, 1861, from Gen. John E. Wool at Fortress Monroe in Virginia, asking Secretary of War Simon Cameron what to do with the–by one account–1,800 contraband slaves under his … Continue reading →

With all the controversy in September 1861 over Gen. John C. Frémont’s martial law proclamation in Missouri, it was easy to miss the quiet revolution that ultimately would make it meaningless. While leading white Northerners argued with each other whether Frémont was … Continue reading →

On September 13, 1861, Union and Confederate forces fought the Second Battle of Boonville, roughly halfway in Missouri between St. Louis and Kansas City. It was an otherwise forgettable battle in which 800 Confederate militia under Col. William Brown unsuccessfully tried … Continue reading →

On September 14, 1861, the New York Times carried a brief but highly interesting piece that readers would have been forgiven for missing. It read: Gen. CASS, in a recent conversation with President FAIRCHILD, of Hillsdale College, Michigan, said that though … Continue reading →

The old cliché states that “Actions speak louder than words.” It was operative in September 1861 between Gen. John C. Frémont and his wife Jessie, on the one hand, and President Abraham Lincoln, on the other. The word that best describes … Continue reading →

If Abraham Lincoln was polite in his letter of September 2, 1861, requesting that John C. Frémont rescind the part of his martial law proclamation freeing the slaves of disloyal Missouri slaveholders, Frémont in his reply dated September 8 was cagey. Nonetheless, the … Continue reading →

Before August passes too far into the past, it is worth noting that last month was the 220th anniversary of the beginning of the Haitian Revolution on August 21, 1791. On that date, the slaves in the French Caribbean colony … Continue reading →

While ostensibly aimed at the State of Missouri, Gen. John Frémont’s martial law proclamation electrified the nation. Here was an army general taking bold action relevant to the basic cause of the war. It especially caused a reaction in the White … Continue reading →