Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-04-16
JACKSON AND PRICE.
Benton and Blair. and Others of the
Leading Men of Missouri in Ante
Bellum Days-The James
Brothers and
Quaatrell, the Noted Guerrilla and Des-
perado-LeaVes from the NO.e-go I
OF Colonel Thomas Snea,,
of Prices Staff.


"Gath's'' Washington Letterin the Cinci1i,sl. En-
auirer.
Colonel Thomss. Snesd, of Missouri, was
chief-Of staff OF Sterling Price and private
secretary for while Of -CIaib." or Claiborne.
Jackson, the rebel governor of Missouri
Meeting Colonel Snead yesterday, asked
him II he ever saw Jesse james, the late rob-
Der.
mo; but l saw Quantrell, the pioneer and
master spirit OF all that class of fellows, At
General Prices headquarters, where be used
to run in, after being hard pressed in his If
regular warfare, and ask to take a regular
command. General Price knew it was Of no
use; that Quantrell and his followers would
take the first opportunity to go off and dep
rebate again, and he did not assent. But i
was surprised at the youthful, denure APP
pesrance of Quantrell, considering his bloody
reputation. de arises, to my mind, as blue
eyed, blonde haired boy, about five feet nine
inches high, demure and docile-lookiDg. /
thought il was wonderful that such deeds
were perpetrated BY such a childish-looking
person"
"What was the animating spirit in the war
of such guerrillas?"
Revenge aud deyilment-a reckless life
and blood. They we're not DESTROYS to rob
LHcJ 10 XIII ana
even They competed with each other Tor
desperate adventures, in which life was al
ways at stake and death was the ipfiction
upon the enemy"
"How do you account for the existence of
such az element in Missouri
at is the development OF a certain element
found in Kentucky, and well known there
upon the greater area and wilder freedom or
lessened constraint OF tine plains. Kentucky
itself frontier State, once populated by the
ruder, wilier element of Virginia and Penn
sylvania, shook off portions of its own law
defying stock to settle Missouri, and the sons
OF these were often Missouriaps of the plains
intensified keDtuckians, of scarcely any re-
straintr, law within themselves delightiug
In daring and vindictiveness. 1t was the
custom Of many OF the Missouri people from
the western portions to cross the continent to
Oregon and New Mexico and partake of the
habits OF the Indians they came in conflict
with as they passed through and imbibe the
principle Of the Indian law, which is life
for life. The Kansas conflict on the border
of Missouri brought much of this nomadic
popnl alton home, and the James gang started,
OF Kentucky stock, on the Kansas border of
Missouri"
THE STORY OF M'LEAN.
"Was General Price able to control set
of outlaws like those?"
"He did the best he could, but nobody
could control them we'll. / will give you an
instance of that. On General Prices staff was
a Scotchman named McLsne, a kind, faithful,
loyal Confederate man. but little rigorous
about rules and discipline. Just about the
close of the war McLane was approached by
another man about headquarters, named
Woods. desperate. 1t was in Arkan-as.
Woods wished to go home TO Missouri to see
girl he had. H. said 10 McLane: "GeE-
eral Price says give me a leave of absence
for two weeks General Price has right
to grant any leave of Absence answered
McLanr. Here is the order of General
Kirby Smith stopping that system oh,
d-n you, said Woods, 'Pll go to General
Price and get my leave of absence Price
was an easy, plain, matter-of-fact man. He
said 10 his son: CELSIUS, write him the leave
of absence And, although McLane inter
posed, the man got it. General Price made
the error of telling Woods that it was against
McLane's protest.
"Now, this man McLane was a gallant
candid fellow, with no feeling against any
body. 1t is said that Mrs. Evans, author Of
Beuldb and other novels, was engaged to him
at the time. He had no luminosity toward
Woods, and seeing that fellow staf-officer
come into his tent, where McLane was TAX
ing a glass of whisky, the latter said,
Woods, old fellow, Pm glad you have
got your pass. Join me in n drink
before you co. No, thanks to you,'
Woods said, darkly; you may go to
hell, you and your whisky and he cursed
him. McLane struck Woods with the whisky
bottle. In a moment Woods cut him all to
pieces with bowie knife. He would have
been hanged for it, but the surrender took
place soon after, and Woods escaped to
Texas, where, / believe, he still hourishes.
McLsne had been in the Kansas troubles"
QUANTRELL's MEN AS SCOUTS.
"Was that vindictive lawlessness confined
to men OF low extraction
"No. / knew a young man whose father
was an eminent judge and his mother con-
nected with the cream of Kentucky families.
He had a sweetheart in Missouri whom he
used to slip over through our lines and see.
Some Union cavalry came there one day and
killed her father on the charge Of breaking
his parole in some way, and made the family
prepare their dinner afterward. That young
fellow, who was of a reckless outlaw nature
went and killed every one of those parties
by assassination, he and a band, calling
them out of their homes and shooting them
down."
"Did not General Price use Quantrell's
men as scouts for his army when he invaded
Missouri"
"rhey may have been acting in apparent
connection with the movement, but do not
recall it. You see the regular army of the
State of Missouri enlisted for the Confeder-
ate government was about 5000 strong at the
beginning of the war. 1t was unable to hold
permanent lines like armies east of the Mis-
sissippi, and, therefore, the State was left
open for the lawless rangers of either army
to operate"
JACKSON AND VEST.
"Was it not an error against the civil
security of Missouri to have forced her into
the rebellion at all? Who did it?"
81 regard that war" said Colonel Snead,
Gas bound to have come. Missouri was the
greatest State that undertook 10 join the
rebeliion-the most populous. The two men
who more than any others took her in were
the governor, Ciaib jackson, and the present
United States Senator, George Vest. Vest
was the orator. the Patrick Henry of seces-
sion ID Missouri. Jackson was the sblest
politician in the State, an iDgrsined State
rights, pro slavery man. He had the fnesse
to carry her into the Confederacy against the
intention of the great bulk of her people,
warmly as they sympsthized with the seced-
ing slave States. He prepared for the war,
and had powder enough brought into Mis-
souri, before the struggle broke out to last the
insurgent cause twenty years"
MISSOURI OPPOSED TO THE coNFEDERAcY.
"What do you mean by saying the Missouri
people were opposed to the CoDfederacy|
81 mean that the people, although two
thirds of them were in favor of the Southern
OBlcCtrs ndu Drch ~ COnNcilcu 70
the views of John j. Crittenden, who told i
them that Virginia, Kentucky and Missouri,
by keeping neutral, could decide the quar-
rel, that they failed TO pre- sent positive and
solid Southern front, and Frank Blair was
able by his positive steps against this seces-
sion cause to cripple Governor Jackson be-
fore the State had arrsyed herself for the
South. Frank Blair was the positive spirit
of the Union in Missouri-the foil to Cover
IacEa0p Roth Kantuclr he. hrad
men. Blair used the 10000 Germans in the
State to attack and break up Governor
Jsckson's military camp, while the people
had been dszed by the Crittenden programme
to believe that they could secure more by
neutrality than by action Blair had Lyon
brought to ST. Louis, which the stra-
tegic point of the State. He saw the Ger
mans having no sense Of State pride-only
of their national allegiaDce-and he got
them ready and hurried them upon Jackson
and his raw militia, and dispflled the vision
of neutrality in the interests Of the South"
"cLAIB" JACKSON.
"What was the character and fate of this
Governor Claiborne Jackson"
"He was one Of the best stock in Ken
lucky, a moderate STAKEHOLDER, having, per-
haPs, fifty negroes at his plantation in the
vicinity of Lexington, No. General Price,
who was Union man till the crisis came
had almost as many slaves. Jackson was
the man who, in lS49, paved the way fer the
defeat Of Colonel Benton az senator from
Missouri by passing set of resolutions in
the Legislature written by Chief-Justice
Napton, who il still alive, expressing the
Dissatisfaction of the Legislature with Col
onei Benton's status on the interests Of
slavery, and afterward holding the Lsgiela-
ture to that position when the reelection of
Benton came up"
RESIoY, CALHOUN AND JACKSON.