The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1901-06-08

| A Bill OF MISSOURI HISTORY.
'"Twas on the 4th of May
Forty years ago to-day,
Camp Jackson was surrounded by the
Hessians
Lyons was there
With Barenstein and Blair,
To drive us from our Happy Land oil
Canaan
The foregoing is the first verse of g
new ballad of those days, and will be
recalled by many of the members OF
| your Missouri colony Of Phoenix The
! Canaan" referred to was Camp jack
| son, located south of and close to the
| United States arsenal near st. Louis,
| Mo.
Early in the spring of 81, Claiborne
| r. Jackson, then governor of Missouri,
issued an order through his adjutant
| general. calling out the states force,
| which was to rendezvous at Jefferson
| City. In the meantime N. B. Forrest,
| think it was Forrest, established anoth-
| er rendezvous near the United States
arsenal below st. Louis and around it
| Camp Jackson. Governor Jackson was
| in hearty sympathy with the secession
| movement, and did all within his power
to have the convention called together
for the purpose Of passing secession
ordinance declaring the state of Mis-
souri, out Of the Union" In this he
failed, but succeeded in forcing through
that convention a resolution declaring
the state in state of armed neutrali-
4 ....a
the guise Of this EARNED neutrality"
resolution, Jackson hoped to be able to
authorize and equip all the available
military force of the state and have it
concentrated at two points, viz: JEFF
ferson City and Camp Jackson. Gene
raj Sterling Price, a veteran Of the Mex
lean war, whose family home was near
Brunswick in Clinton county, Mo-, was
rendered the command of all the state
forces. At heart General Price was
Unionist and strongly opposed the Sc
cession movement, and being very pop
uar throughout the state Governor
Jackson knew it was absolutely essen
tial to the carrying out of his plans that
General Sterling Price become ident-
fled, at least on the surface, with the
governors preconceived and secret
schemes for secession. To accomplish
this result, Jackson put up all sorts of
epecious pleas and plans to induce Gen
eral Price to join him in his armed
neutrality" schemes, trusting to time
and circumstances for it's final consum-
nation. Jackson and his ilk were
scheming politicians, while Price was
plain, blunt soldier and history has
written the record of the two forces
the politician gets the chicken pie.
Governor Jackson's plan was first
to organize his forces and to arm them
as best he could with squirrel rifles,
shotguns or any old thing in the shape
of firearms This was done and the
state troops which rendezvoused at JEFF
ferson City were thoroughly armed.
But in order to divert suspicion as to
his Interior motives, Jackson ordered
all troops that We're to rendezvous at
Camp Jackson to do so without arms"
The governors plan seemed to be
working smoothly enough, and he noti-
fled the southern leaders to "have a
little political patience yet awhile" and
he would treat them with a great sur
prise" After the men had been drilled
and disciplined into something like eff
cient soldiers, pretense would be
found, prearranged riot or the like at
st. Louis, to move the Jefferson City
force on that city, or within easy
striking distance thereto. This Jeffer- |
son City force comprised several thou
sand men, and while at that city We're
1uartered in the capitol building, the