CHAPTER XXI.

THE CIVIL WAR.

In a great many ways the War of the Rebellion affected the commerce of the Missouri River. Missouri was a slave State, and most of her citizens along the river were Southern sympathizers. It is stated that all the Missouri River pilots except two were in sympathy with the South, and that General Lyon had to go to the Illinois River for pilots when he wanted to move his troops up the river in June, 1861.

The steamboat business on the river felt the weight of the war almost immediately upon its breaking out. Most of the business was with the loyal people and was, of course, considered by the Confederates as a legitimate subject of confiscation. Guerrilla bands infested the country along the river, fired into the boats, and did all they could to break up the business. They succeeded in driving most of the traffic off the lower river; but at the same time the demands of the war stimulated the trade higher up. There was an increased movement of government troops and stores, and in the later years of the war many refugees from both armies passed up the river to the mountains. The discovery of gold in Montana added greatly to the river commerce during these years. The injurious effects of the war, therefore, were mainly confined to the river below Kansas City.

[Sidenote: GUERRILLAS IN MISSOURI.]

The peril to navigation due to the operations of the guerrillas was a formidable one. Wherever the channel ran close to the high wooded banks or other sheltered localities, ambush and attack could always be expected. The danger was mainly from the south bank. It became necessary to tie up at night away from this bank, and Captain La Barge followed the practice of anchoring in mid-stream. The pilot-houses were regularly equipped with shields of boiler iron, semi-cylindrical in form, inclosing the wheel, and capable of being moved so as to be adjusted to the changing course of the vessel. These shields were of great service on the upper river also, for the Indians at this time were as dangerous in that section as were the guerrillas farther down. Occasionally, when there was much government freight aboard, troops were sent up on the boat until Kansas City was passed.

The passions aroused by this internecine strife deadened human kindness, and made men as ferocious and brutal as wild beasts. This was particularly true of the lawless bands of guerrillas whose desultory operations have been in all wars the most cruel and most difficult to suppress or control. Brigadier General Loan, of the Missouri State Militia, in reporting the tragedy which we shall next relate, said: “The guerrillas and Rebel sympathizers are waging a relentless, cruel, and bloody war upon our unarmed and defenseless citizens, and are determined to continue it until the last loyal citizen is murdered, or driven from the State for fear of being murdered.” Such was the true situation along the south bank of the Missouri River, and it was only by the most vigilant precaution on the part of the steamboat men that they did not suffer more than they did. We shall relate one instance in which these precautions did not avail.

[Sidenote: AFFAIR OF THE “SAM GATY.”]

In the latter part of March, 1863, the steamboat _Sam Gaty_ was on her way up the Missouri with a heavy load of freight and passengers, bound for the far upper river. There were on board several persons of wealth on their way to the newly discovered gold fields of Montana. There were besides quite a number of paroled Union soldiers and some forty contrabands, as the negroes freed by the war were called. While passing under a high wooded bank near Sibley, Mo., the boat was attacked by a band of guerrillas under the leadership of one Hicks, who had for some time been the terror of the surrounding country. The boat was ordered to come to the bank and promptly obeyed, whereupon the guerrillas immediately boarded her. The attack was unexpected, and the passengers were seated around the cabin engaged in games and conversation when the appalling fact of their situation dawned upon them. A rush was made to conceal valuable property, and the paroled soldiers made haste to get into citizens’ clothes. The poor negroes could do nothing. The guerrillas made quick and heartless work. They robbed the passengers of all the valuables to be found on their persons, and one man narrowly escaped summary death for attempting to slip his gold watch into his boot. All the property on board that seemed to be of any use to the government was thrown into the river. The safes were broken open and robbed. Some of the paroled soldiers were taken off the boat and shot. All of the contrabands were driven ashore, where they were shot down in cold blood. Their shrieks and cries were plainly heard on the boat. After this attack the boat was allowed to proceed.

[Sidenote: AN ATROCIOUS CRIME.]

Vengeance followed quickly in the wake of this atrocious crime. A body of Kansas troops under a Major Ransom pursued and overtook the guerrillas, attacked and destroyed their camp, took twenty-one horses, killed seventeen men in combat and hanged two, and completely dispersed the organization.[44]

[Sidenote: A UNION MAN]

Captain La Barge had his full share of troublesome experiences that followed the outbreak of the war. As a slave-owner in a small way, and as a man born and bred in the old ante-bellum atmosphere that surrounded the institution of slavery, his natural sympathies were with the South. But when it came to a decision he did not hesitate a moment. As between union and disunion he was for union. It required a degree of self-denial and patriotism which many Northerners have never fully appreciated to stand by the country when one’s training and natural sympathies would have led him to the other side. Captain La Barge remained a Union man, took the oath of allegiance, and throughout the war rendered constant service to the government. He soon came to see the wisdom of his decision, and before the war was over his sympathies had swung into full line with his action.

[Sidenote: THE GALLOWS CHEATED.]

In 1861 Captain La Barge was coming down the river on the _Emilie_ from Omaha, and, as usual, stopped at St. Joseph for freight and passengers. A good many people got on board, most of them Southern sympathizers going south. When the boat rounded out into the stream the passengers went up on deck and cheered for Jefferson Davis. The news of this event was telegraphed to Colonel R. D. Anthony of Leavenworth[45]. This distinguished agitator and ardent Union man called a meeting of the citizens, and it was decided to hang La Barge the moment the boat arrived. The Captain had a stanch friend in Leavenworth of the name of Alexander Majors, of the firm of Russell, Majors & Waddell, overland freighters. He was waiting to take passage to his home in Lexington, Mo. When the boat approached there was a great crowd on the levee. The instant the prow touched the bank Majors leaped on board and told the Captain not to make fast, as the crowd proposed to hang him. The Captain asked the clerk what business they had for Leavenworth. He replied that there were only a few bills to collect. “Let them go for now,” said the Captain, and tapping the bell to depart, drew back into the stream. When the crowd saw that they were outwitted, they swung their rope into the air and yelled that they would get him at Wyandotte. “All right,” replied the Captain, “I expect to stop there,” but when he reached that place he kept right on.

[Sidenote: SERVING UNDER DURESS.]

[Sidenote: AN UNPLEASANT DILEMMA.]

On one of the down trips in the season of 1861 the _Emilie_ arrived at Boonville just as the Confederates were evacuating that place upon the approach of the Federals under General Lyon. La Barge knew nothing of what was transpiring there, and his first intimation of any unusual state of things was a volley of cannon shot whistling over the boat. The Captain signaled that he would halt, and rounded to above the town. The Confederate General Marmaduke came on board and with him Captain Kelly and a company of troops. “I knew Marmaduke well,” said La Barge, “and asked him as soon as he got on board what the matter was. He replied, ‘I want you to turn around and take General Price up to Lexington. He is sick and cannot stand the overland ride.’ I replied that I could not think of such a thing; that I was in the service of the government. He then took possession of the boat, placed me in arrest, and forced me to take the boat back to Lexington. I protested again, saying that the crew would look to me for pay for this extra work, and the government would hold me responsible for failure to fulfill my contract. Marmaduke replied, ‘I will pay you every cent you have to disburse on account of this trip.’ After Price came on board Marmaduke left, and we then steamed up to Lexington, where the boat was turned over to me and I was told to shift for myself. I suppose they thought I ought to consider myself fortunate to get off at all. They never paid me anything, although they might easily have done so, for the first thing done upon landing at Lexington, as I was told, was to sack all the banks of that town. As to my getting away, that was far from being a matter of much satisfaction. It was, of course, known in the Federal lines that I had carried Price up the river. How should I answer for myself upon my return? I went to Price, told him the dilemma I was placed in, and asked him to help me. He gave me a very strong letter, stating that I had acted under duress, and had been forced to go back against my repeated protest.

[Sidenote: GENERAL LYON.]

[Sidenote: LA BARGE RELEASED.]

“It was with no slight misgivings that I turned the _Emilie_ downstream and started in the direction of Boonville. I knew that there was trouble in store for me. When I approached the Federal lines a volley was fired at the boat, apparently with the definite purpose of hitting her. I promptly rounded to and the firing ceased. A young Lieutenant by the name of White came on board with a guard of a dozen men to arrest me. I had known White in St. Louis as a commission clerk, a young man of no account, but who, having now some authority, felt disposed, like all inferior men, to exercise it with a severity in inverse proportion to his ability. He doubtless thought it a great feather in his cap to have as prisoner a man who would scarcely have deigned to notice him in any other situation. He was insolent and arbitrary, and lunging his sword toward me, would order me to walk faster. I was taken to General Lyon’s quarters, and when in that officer’s presence, he said to me: ‘You are in a very bad scrape here, sir.’ I took Price’s letter from my pocket and handed it to him, saying, ‘General, please read that; it may help to straighten matters out.’ He read the letter, but pretended not to think much of it. After hemming and hawing over the matter for a while he said: ‘Do you know anyone here who can tell me who you are?’ He knew very well who I was, for he had been with Harney in the Sioux War of 1854–55 and we had met then. I asked him to name the members of his staff, and I could tell. He finally mentioned Frank Blair. I said with some irony, ‘I know Frank Blair very well, and I think _he_ knows me.’ We then walked up to Blair’s quarters. He shook hands cordially and said, ‘I understand that you are in a bad fix here.’ ‘It looks like it,’ I replied. ‘Rather be at home than here, I presume,’ he continued jokingly. ‘Much rather,’ I replied. Lyon showed Blair Price’s letter. They consulted together for a little while and Lyon then said to me, ‘You can take possession of your steamboat and go home.’ I found the boat in Lyon’s fleet where it had been taken, and all of her provisions confiscated. I was not long in getting up steam, and left the inhospitable region with the utmost expedition.

“I did not like Lyon. He was a Yankee, and his disposition seemed to be to crush everyone who did not think as he did. His language and bearing toward me were so insolent and exasperating that they left a lasting rancor in my mind.[46]

“This affair cost me about five thousand dollars, although I was partially reimbursed for the stores taken. I did not go up the river again that season, being too much vexed and disgusted with my late experience. I sent the boat up under charge of a man of the name of Nick Wall, who ran her until my government contracts were completed.”

In the year 1862 Captain La Barge was again impressed temporarily into the service of guerrillas. On October 16 of that year a body of Confederates was at Portland, Mo., when the steamboat _Emilie_ came along. The _Emilie_ stopped to put two men ashore, when a gang of Rebels concealed behind a woodpile took possession of the boat and compelled Captain La Barge to set them across the river. He was forced to unload his deck freight and take on 175 horses and as many men. Scarcely had they started across when a force of Union cavalry of the Missouri State Militia arrived, but not in time to arrest the operation.

These were the only occasions on which Captain La Barge had trouble on the river on account of the War. Like all other boatmen, he welcomed the close of this conflict and the tranquillity which it brought to the river business.

[Sidenote: UNITED STATES VOLUNTEERS.]

[Sidenote: A NOTABLE CHARACTER.]

There was an organization in the military establishment of the United States, growing out of the progress of the war, of which very little is known. It was called the United States Volunteers, and consisted of six regiments and one independent company. It was composed chiefly of deserters from the Confederate army and prisoners of war who had taken the oath of allegiance to the United States. These troops served continuously on the Western plains and in the Northwest, except the 1st and 4th regiments, which served mainly at Norfolk, Va. On the Missouri River, and perhaps elsewhere, they were commonly spoken of as “Galvanized Yankees.” In 1864, when Fort Rice was established near the mouth of the Cannon Ball River, it was garrisoned by the 1st Regiment of U. S. Volunteers under Colonel Charles A. R. Dimon. This officer was one of the remarkable characters of Missouri River history, and made a great impression along the valley, considering his brief service there. He was the particular bugbear of the traders, and the character which they have given him can be best expressed by spelling his name with an “e” in the first syllable. It was said that he ordered his men shot down on the least provocation, and that many of the regiment were slain in this way. Numbers of his men are said to have deserted through fear of his tyrannical and ungovernable temper. One of the traders has left a record of his own special grievance.

[Sidenote: DRASTIC MEASURES.]

In the winter of 1864–65, as already stated, the American Fur Company sold out to the Northwestern Fur Company, more commonly known as the firm of Hawley & Hubbell. In the following spring these two gentlemen went up the river with Mr. C. P. Chouteau on the American Fur Company boat, the _Yellowstone_, to make the transfer of the posts and property. There were many passengers of different political creeds on board, including a number of ex-Confederates. At a point about one hundred miles above Fort Sully news of Lincoln’s assassination was received, and the passengers of all shades of opinion expressed their horror of the event. When the boat arrived at Fort Rice, Colonel Dimon, according to this authority, came down to the boat with a large guard of soldiers and placed the whole party under arrest on the charge of jubilating over the assassination of the President. The traders thought the whole proceeding was a scheme of Colonel Dimon to advertise his intense loyalty. He told Chouteau, whose Southern proclivities were well understood along the river, that he would take him out on the bank and shoot him like a dog. Chouteau was thoroughly frightened and trembled like a leaf, for there was no knowing what the impetuous officer might take a notion to do.

Hubbell and Hawley determined to go down to Sioux City and report to General Sully the detention of their boat and the conduct of Colonel Dimon toward themselves and others. Chouteau gave them a yawl and wrote a letter to the General. Dimon ordered them not to go without first reporting to him. Although his authority to give such an order is doubtful, the men did not dare to disobey for fear of being shot. When they appeared they were required to submit all their letters to his inspection. The particular letter he was after was one he believed Chouteau had written, but Hubbell and Hawley had slipped it into the breech of a Henry rifle and left it in the boat. Finally they were permitted to go. They made a rapid trip, partly by river and partly by land, and immediately reported their grievances to General Sully. The General promptly gave them a written order to Colonel Dimon to release their boat. Armed with this they returned to Fort Rice by the steamer _G. W. Graham_, and in an incredibly short time, considering the distance and mode of travel, appeared before Colonel Dimon. General Sully’s order eased matters up somewhat, but still the traders had a good deal of trouble with the irate post commander.

[Sidenote: FACT AND FICTION.]

How much there was in the stories about Colonel Dimon is doubtful, but probably about an equal mixture of fact and fiction. Certainly the view of the traders concerning him was not shared by General Sully, if we judge from the following extracts from his own correspondence with General Pope. Writing from Sioux City under date of June 10, 1865, he says:

[Sidenote: GENERAL SULLY’S VIEWS.]

“I admire his energy and pluck, the determination with which he carries out orders; but he is too young--too rash--for his position, and it would be well if he could be removed. He is making a good deal of trouble for me, and eventually for you, in his over-zealous desire to do his duty.... His regiment was raised and organized by Ben. Butler, and he is too much like him in his actions for an Indian country, but he is just the sort of a man I would like to have under me in the field.” Upon his arrival at Fort Rice a month later he thus commented upon Colonel Dimon:

“I am much pleased with the appearance of this post and the way military duty is performed. Colonel Dimon is certainly an excellent officer. A few more years of experience to curb his impetuosity would make him one of the best officers in our volunteer service.”

Pope in the meanwhile authorized Sully to take such action in regard to Colonel Dimon as he saw fit. A board of officers was convened to investigate complaints against him, and on the strength of their report he was relieved July 21, 1865. He resumed command of the post, however, October 10, 1865, but was mustered out of the service on the 27th of the following month. He was subsequently brevetted Brigadier General of Volunteers for gallant and meritorious service during the war.

[Sidenote: A FAIR PROBABILITY.]

Colonel Dimon probably showed an excess of severity toward the traders where the average officer showed far too little. That explains their chief ground of dislike of him. Add to this the “impetuosity” of temperament referred to by General Sully, and we have a pretty close analysis of a situation which caused a great flurry on the Missouri River in its day. As a matter of fact a great many of the men in the 1st Volunteers died at Fort Rice, but from disease, and not by execution under Dimon’s order. A number of men did desert, and seventeen of them walked all the way to Fort Union. One of these men made a pen drawing of that post which is probably the most accurate now in existence.