The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-04-03
- vEsTs - oAREER.
The Senator as a Member Of Mis-
souri's Wartime Legislature.
CWashington Post)

breaking out Of the civil war and Sen
ator Vests celebrated speech in that
body. with his subsequent fight TO
the confederate lines and his election
by twenty-five members of Colonel
Jones regiment TO the Confederate
congress. said the colonel:
1T was long time ago, but think
I can give ii to you. / had been with
General Atehison in the border troubles
In Kansas for some time and was pref
~ much used up so I thought I would
take a rest for the winter at Jener-
son City, amusing myself by listening
to the exciting debates in the legis-
latUre. which, knew. were bound to
follow. There were some very big men
In that body of state lawmakers,
among them was George Vest. young
saddlebag lawyer from Boonvllle, who
az that time was opening a modest
law office with fair prospects for the
future.
Claiborne jackson was governor and
was as pronounced a prO-slavery Dem
ocrat as was Vest. That remarkable
war legislature. which has gone into
history. was composed of 100 members
as well as / can remember. OF that
number twenty-five were Union men
and opposed TO Missouri being taken
out Of the Union on snap judgment
by Vest and his followers in the leg
isaltUre. with Governor Jackson on the
outside to back them up with his Of
fetal approval. The situation was be-
coming daily more serious around the
capital as TO tie future of Missouri.
Governor Jackson and General SteT-
ling Price made a visit to st. Louis
to confer with Captain Lyon Of the
of the arsenal and forces at that place
The interview between these gentle
men and Captain Lyon was not sat
isfactory 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 capt.
tai over the line they Travelled.
1T was deemed advisable 20 arm the
members OF the legislature with mus
kets and ammunition sufficient TO re-
sist an attack by the United States
forces. Il was agreed that the mem
bers should be equipped for battle as
required in the army regulations. Ac-
cOrdlngly, each member was furnished
with a musket and cartridge box filled
with ammunition. Thus armed, they
continued 10 legisl8te with their mus
kets lying across their laps and cart
ridge 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 rifle to his shoulder,
Ia Hsa-H
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 heat.
and after he had stacked his musket,
he thus addressed the house:
Mr. Speaker, I notice in a morn
ing newspaper a dispatch which reads
as follows (holdlng up the paper):
The bodies Of the soldiers who were
killed I'm Baltimore, belonging to a
Massac husetts regiment, have been
placed on ice and shipped to New Eng
land for burial I say Mr.. Speaker.
if this Yankee government expects TO
put the body Of every soldier who is
killed in an effort 10 coerce the south
on ice. Lincoln had better make
contract for Greenland's icy mountai~
and that damn quick The uuderta
ers will need it all before they fin
ish the job of burying the dead
About the time he closed his re-
marks a messenger rushed into the
house of representatives and handed
telegram TO the presiding officer, who
passed it to the clerk and asked him
10 read it to the members Of the house.
The dispatch was as follo<s:
Captain Lyon and Frank Blair are
o., route q Jefferson civ with three
regiments Of troops 20 capture the leg
islature and hang all the secessiOnists
of that body
Thank God for that" exclaimed
one Of the Union members from back
county. A few pairs Of pillow lines
well used on some members of the
house will do the Union cause some
good.
THE widest excitement prevailed:
members reached for their muskets;
some were for defending the state
house, while the majority thought pru-
dence the better part Of valOr and
favored going further south. It looked
like a speedy adjournment would take
place without voting the presiding Of
hcer the usual vote Of thanks. After
the panic had partly subsidized it was
ascertained the message was hoax
intended to test the courage Of the leg
islative warriors.
shortly after, however, the news
reached jefferson City that Colonel Ly-
on had actually captured Camp Jack
son and $50 prisoners, and was then
moving on Bonneville. There was
general panic and every man struck
out for his own safety. Vest and Gov
ernOr Jackson were the first to make
the break. and a bee line for the south
ern part of the state, where they
thought they would be safe from dan
ger. The governor. with as many mem
bers as could keep up with him, halted
at Neosho to hold a meeting Of the
legislature. They took possession Of
the old Presbyterian church in that
town Cor a legislative hall, and here
the remnant Of the once spirited and
determined body of war statesmen met
10 consider what was best to be done
TO pull Missouri into the rebellion.
"They had not more than gotten dow
TO business when old Jim Lane swept
down on them from the Kansas side
and put the governor and his legisla-
ture TO inglorious fight. There was no
safety for them except in the rear OF
General Prices army, as the war be
gan 10 close down too hard and there
was bloody fighting all around. The
moving legislature became tired and
demOralized. Some of them Joined
Prices army. and others scattered out
over different sections Of the country.
There was such an army Of camp fcl-
lowers and lOungers hanging around
Prices army that the old general is
sued ma order compelling every able
bodied man from Missouri to either en-
list ga the Confederate army or leave
the camp. This order bore heavily on
George Vest, for, said he, 7 am not a
soldier, but a statesman; 7 am not built
for q soldicr.'
However. the orders Of cruel war had
10 bD obeVcd. and Vest left us He spent
his last night ia camD with me ana earl,,