Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1894-05-31

says. were strongly IN I1VOr or pressry-
ing the Union; but their union was
that OF 1850, and not what the emanci-
patton proclamation would have it. He
says that many of these men were ex.
Union soldiers who had served their
time, but left the army in disgust as
soon as the government began to enlist
negro troops. 1t was easy enough 10
organize these men for the purpose OF
obstructing the government, but the
great difficulty found by the organizers
Of the Sons of Liberty was in getting
the members of that organization Ia
support them in releasing the Southern
prisoners and in aiding, by arms il need
be, the cause of the Confederacy.
The ,1ate set for springing the con.
spiracy on the public was the assem-.
bling OF the Democratic convention in
chicago in 1864. The gathering OF
arge numbers of citizens from all over
he country at that point and at that
irae would not attract attention, and
Hires and Castleman had arranged to
Iave from thirty to forty thousand men
the city, all secretly armed and
eady at q signal to seize the telegraph
offices and the railroads between Rock
Island and Chicago, and to release and
arm the 5000 Confederates then held
as prisoners of war at Camp Douglass.
Had the scheme worked as it had been
planned, they would have had an army
al once of from fifty to seventy-fve
thousand men, O majority of them
trained soldiers, whose ranks would be
quickly swollen by accessions from the
disconnected men in Illinois, Indiana
and the Northwest.
1t would seem that the government
had some suspicion of danger in Chica-
go at the assembling of this convention,
for the authorities took the precaution
to send 1000 troops to that point.
Even the friends of the Union in Chi
cago at that time regarded this as a
very unwise proceeding. The Demo.
Gratis raised the cry that an attempt
was being made to over-awe the con-
vention and intimidate themselves. In
proof of this they pointed at the SOL
diers recently arrived, and the pres
ehce of thousands of blue-clad men in
the conspirators to infame their oath
bound adherents. Fortunately for the
cause of good government, these troops
were not found necessary, and no citi-
zen was arrested by them during the
Chicago convention. This course an
gered and disappointed the conspra-
tors, for it needed but the arrest OF one
man to throw torch into the magazine
that undermined the city, and so have
precipitated the conflict which needed
but initiation to have proved at least q
great temporary success.
The night before the convention as
sembled everyth ng was in readiness;
every officer was assigned to his place,
and all received their orders from their
acknowledged Headquarters at the
Richmond house. But the signal was
never given, and the great conspiracy
died still-born. The cause of this is
attributed to treason within their own
ranks, and Colonel Castleman does not
hesitate to say that the failure was en-
tirely due to the timidity or treachery
OF the adjutant general OF the Sons of
Liberty. When the time came to act
the men on whom Hines ana Castleman
had depended to make the attack on
Fort Douglass, overpower the guard
and release the prisoners, showed the
white feather. They we're quite will
ing to take oaths to oppose the govern
mont and destroy it if need be, but
when it came to facing bayonets in the
hands of resolute men, the courage so
conspicuous in the lodge oozed out and
they proved themselves to be the veri,
est poltroons.
Withst the failure to act during the
meeting of the Chicago convention and
the return of the delegates to their
homes, the opportunity was passed. By
twos and threes the Sons of Liberty
sneaked back to the vicinity of their
lodges, which soon after began to dis
band. Some time after this Hines and
Castleman were arrested and were hold
as prisoners till released on habeas cor
pus at the end of the war in 1865. This,
in brief, is an outline sketch of the
great conspiracy of 1864. which prom
ised so much and ended in ignoble dis
aster,