Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1861-07-04
r. p. blair. Jr.,

Col. Blair left this city on Monday last for
the East. ,Phc situation Of things inMhs-
souri at the moment not calling for,bis pres
ence at the hepdof bis,regihlcnt hs has de-
parted for the East to render more valu-
bic service to Missouri and to the whole
country The time that must elapse between
this and the 18th Of July, on which dW Con-
gress will meet, is short enough for the du-
ties he has undertaken to discharge before
he will be required to resume his seat III the
House Of Representatives. n
That he will do 'well and quickly" what
il i'm his hands 70 lo, no one can doubt. From
te he has had this confidence from his
friends. From that moment he has coln-
manded this respect from his opponents.-
Boy or man, oil have conceded to Frank
Blair the will and the ability to meet there
sponsibilities of every occasion in which it
has been his duty to act. With tho ekpan-
sive vigor Of superior intellect he has de-
veloped new powers in every crisis, and risen
equal to the demands Of every emergency.
To-day he fills higher place in the popular
estimation than he has ever filled, He has
left Missouri with greater reputation,
more extended influence, and larger capa-
bilties for good, than she has yet enjoyed.
1t is but just to Col. Blair to record that on
his return to this city in April last, his tai
ents were subjected to most severe and
trying experiment. The grand object, before.
him at that time, was to arrest tho State Of
Missouri, then trembling on the verge Of
revolution, and bind her fast to the Union.
The means by which this great and patriotic
end was to be accomplished, were Of the
consisted in the organizing and ,srming in
this city Of military force sufficient to pro-
tect its loyal inhabitants against armed bands
of Secessionists, alread, rganized and (of-
fcered and drilled cpd bdcked up by trait
orous State Government, and a,Ciyy Gov
erHneht, which if.ibt traitorous in fact, was
hostile 10 the Uaion and sypps sthhihg
strongly with secession. Who docs not re-
member the naughty bearing Of the Seccs.,
sionists at that time? $50 chopfallen withal
and humbled now) Our Commissioners Of
Police had discovered that Captain (now
Gen. Lyon, who had only some 200 men in
the Arsenal had no authority to bring his,
men outside its walls. They had procured
the opinion of certain traitor lawyer thdt
to do so was unconstitutional; they had
posted sentinels around the Arsenal, to- spy
out the movements there and bring into cob:
tempt the national flag and put under the
law of rebel city police the men who bore
, | IT, oTlS. -OcH. CToot tWllO HAS SiHce IleloeU
quite away,) had announced his purpose to
manding the Arsenal, aud Gen. Harney had
: decided that it would not be ''pratkhthi in
Lyon to take any step to prevent it, and that
, no such attempt should be made St. Louis
: trembled cnd covered beneath the over
- whelming power of Secession.
y The difficulty of organizing such military
! force as Blair desired was threefold There
), was difficulty in overcoming the fears of the
:, :, rank and file of the Union men, who knew
their motions were watched by sharp and
hostile police There was duiigdr that the
first small body of Union men who might
initiate the work would be set upon and cut
: to pieces by the Minute Men," who had
garrisoned and fortified with cannon the
G building on the corner of Fifth and Pine, or
J. by Frost brigade, who were at that time
q quartered in the city. ..yt.
. But another most imposing difficulty to
y be overcome lay in the hesitation and timid-
$ ity of many men of influence among the
@ said these, to organize; it was rash to arm;
"a it would excite ecessionists--provoke on
- attack-draw down upon us the city police,
and lead to bloodshed. But all these diff
'r culties were surmounted 1t. was in the
II genius of Col. Blair to oovercohie them He
N moved right on. His quiet, steady, and un-
is pretending courage inspirited the taltering
10 Union men. His discretion aud celebrity OF
d action oyer-reached both the police and the
!. Minute Menr The organization was per-
e iccted with 50 much secrcsy and dispatch
le that an army seemed TO have been created
= in an. hour. 1t was in this way that Col.
d Blair. held up aud sustained the Union men
g with one hand, while with the other he
|? slnote and discounted the Secessionists
ltl The rest is known. The capture Of Camp
Or Jackson, that nucleus of the Secession army
10 which was to take Missouri out Of the Union,
N the most gallant feat in the history Of the
" war, was but one Of the results Of the Wis
4. dom we have been attempting to portray.
: The battle of Boonville, another brillian,
d, our little army as with mantle, might have
ut been wonby any officer with less than tithe
of the credit for talents which rightfally be.
% long to Col. Blair. These victories were
% won, in fact, last Winter and Spring, when
q Frank Blair and the friends who followed
- fterhirn, in their .self.lenying work. Of
= patriotism, threaded the. streets and alleys
"a of St Louis by highland met With secrecy
\, in halls and garrets--and collected, and of.
y fcered, and drilled, and formed, and mould
=, ed into shape by tlow degrees the Union
:" army of ST. Louis, 6, 900 strong, soon after
=, to be swelled by contributions frem the coun.
. . try to nearly thrice, that humber And
=" when in the course of = few more days we
-, shall learn that the heroic and accomr II shed
~ y Lyon hos routed aud dispersed the followers
Is Is Of the traitor Rains, and the pirate Nc.
70 y Culloch, and set the seal ofannihilation on
- !, the Missourirebellion, and award to the
= triumphant warrior the honors due to the
N first General Of the country, we shall not
II fail to refer for the causes Of his success to
N m small law office in this city, where Frank
ID Blair opened to few friends, last Winter
= his plan Of dealing with Secessiph in Mis-
=. souri,. The work seton foot that. night i.
+. now nearly or quite finished. The tfaitor.
!. of Missouri are bvsrthrowps The State il
"A safe. and has been saved by stroke Of
~ genius, with little bloodshed, from The horol
v Of protracted conflict, The ''indiscretion'
I, OF Q. .far-reachipg sagacity andIe lofty cour
nj age In asingle man, has done thestork. W.
h. dolbelieye that the same policy would have
h. saved Virginia, Tennessee, and Arkansa!
ifsr fsr Secession .@ PsttAg e had 5YA e YrA man
I'D BALrIMoRE NOT QUITE UsDth MAysrIA