The Sunday globe., 1901-05-26
HOW SENATOR VEST
Received the News in the Missouri
Legislature of War.
GREENLAND'S ICY MOUNTAINS S
Could Not Furnish Ice Enough 10 Preserve
Union Soldiers Killed COerolng The South.
His Election 10 The Confederate Congress
and Subsequent Travels as Related By Col.
Alex Jusss 10 The Globe.

His Election 10 The Confederate Congress
and Subsequent Travels as Related By COL
Alex. Juses 10 The Globe.
did you ever hear the correct story
how George Vest, now United States
Senator from Missouri, became famous
in the State Legislature during the
sussion of 1S60-61," said Col. Alexan-
der Jones of Independence, the other
night at the Arlington to a GLOBE re-
porter.
1T is a long time ago, but l think
can give it to you. l had been with
General Atchison in the border trou-
bles in Kansas, for some time and was
pretty much used up so l thought
would take a rest for the winter at
JEFFERSON City, amusing myself by lis
tenlng to the exciting debates in the
Legislature, which / knew were bound
TO follow. had seen something of
border war and was prepared to hear
wild talk from the boys who had not
been to the front. There were some
very big men in that body of State law
makers, among them was Geo. Vest, a
young saddlebag lawyer from Boon
vile, who at that time was opening a
modest law office with fair prospects
for the future. He came into promi.
nence as a Democratic elector in 1860
ana was elected to the Legislature the
same year. He was called the cham.
pion Of secession in Missouri and the
Patrick Henry Of the Legislature. His
hery speeches on the stump and in de-
bate in the Legislature brought him
prominently before the country. and
gave him a large following in the State
as well as in the Legislature among
those who believed that secession was
right
"Clairborn Jackson was at that time
governor and was as pronounced a pro
slavery and disunion Democrat as
Vest. These two Democratic leaders
took the State into the rebellion
against the desire and intention of
large majority of her people, although
they warmly sympathized with the
South. That remarkable war Legisla.
ture, which has gone into history. was
composed of 100 members, as we'll as /
can remember. OF that number 20 were
Union men and opposed to Missouri
being taken out of the Union on snap
Judgment by Vest and his followers in
the Legislature, and Governor jackson
on the outside to back them I'D with
his official approval. The session be-
came exciting and stormy as the NUT
terings of rebellion were heard form
Washington and the South. The Sc
cessionists became more intemperate
in their language and more desperate
in their acts. The situation was be.
coming daily more serious around the
Capital as to the future of Missouri.
Governor Jackson and General Sterl-
ing Price made visit to ST.. Louis to
confer with Captain Lyons, of the
United States Army, then in command
OF the Arsenal and forces at that place.
The interview between these gentle
men and Captain Lyon was not salts
factory to them, He gave them two
hours to get out Of the city, which
they did by taking a special train to
Jefferson City, stopping long enough
at each of the railroad bridges to burn
them down. They did not leave a
bridge between st. Louis and the Cap
ital over the line they travelled.
when the result Of the interviews
with Captain Lyon was made known
to the Legislature, Vest said: 1T means
war to the hilt and that it was time
they were making some move to de-
fend the State and Capital against the
forces in st. Louis. The first move to
raise money was by passing an act
closing all the public schools in the
State and use that appropriation to
buy gun powder. Governor Jackson
bought the powder and had it brought
into the State for the use Of the seces-
sionists. Most of the powder bought
was afterwards captured by the Union
forces and used by them to defend the
Union against Prices army. They
took another precaution against the
anticipated invasion and capture of
the State capital by Lyon and Blair,
who were then raising troops in the
State for the Union cause It was
deemed advisable to arm the members
of the Legislature with muskets and
ammunition sufficient to resist an at
tack by the United States forces. Il
was agreed that the members should
be equipped for battle as required in
the army regulations. Accordingly
each member was furnished with a
musket and cartridge box filed with
ammunition. Thus armed, they con-
tinued to legislate with their muskets
lying across their laps and cartridge
belts around their waists, ready for a
fight or a run, which ever was most
prudent and desirable.
while this was going on inside the
Capital building, Governor Jackson
was on the outside with his pistols
strapped to his waist and rife on his
shoulder, while the bride of his horse
lay across his arm, ready saddled and
bridled. A few days after the attack
on the Sixth Massachusetts, regiment
in Baltimore, by the mob Vest arose
in his seat and after he had stacked
lis musket, he thus addressed the
house:
"'Mr. Speaker, notice in a morning
newspaper a dispatch which reads as
follows (holding up the paper) The
bodies of the soldiers that we're killed
in Baltimore, belonging to a Massa-
chusetts regiment, have been placed
on ice and shipped to New England for
burial I say, Mr. Speaker, If this
Yankee government expects to put the
body of every soldier who is killed In
an effort to coerce the South on ice,
Lincoln had better make a contract
a. Ia. F..N