Lincoln's Ax Falls on Colonel McHenry

Colonel McHenry's order issued at New Market, Kentucky did not go unnoticed, and President Lincoln responded on December 2, 1862  by  issuing an order of his own.   He removed the Colonel who had organized and led his men through two major battles, across northern Alabama and north to Louisville, pursuing Bragg back into Tennessee.

Colonel A.M. Stout relieved  McHenry when the order was received at their camp in Russellville, but he inherited a regiment in utter disarray.  These loyal American citizens who had fought to preserve the Constitution and the Union were determined to follow Colonel Mchenry to the end.  If the army didn't want him, it must not want them either and they were, almost to a man, prepared to desert their regiment.

Ever faithful in the service of his country, Colonel Mchenry prepared a Special Order  to be read as a farewell to his troops on December 15, 1862.  With the entire regiment gathered north of the town square at Russellville, the following order was read aloud.  McHenry's character and eloquence as reflected therein are on par with many other great American leaders, and it is easy to see why his men held him in such high regard.


Headquarters, 17th Reg't Ky Vols.
Russellville, Ky., Dec. 15th, 1862

SPECIAL ORDER:

The Colonel commanding announces with unfeigned regret to the officers and soldiers of this regiment, that, by a Special Order of the President of the United States, he has been discharged from the service of his country, to which he has been unceasingly devoted since the invasion of the soil of our native state by the rebel forces more than a year ago.

He deems it unnecessary to explain to the members of this regiment the causes which have brought about this unpleasant and unfortunate state of affairs, as he supposes that they are familiar to every officer and soldier in the regiment, and moreover, he believes that the promulgation of his order dated October 27th, 1862, and the frequent expression of the opinion contained therein, accorded with the high-toned sentiment and with the law-abiding, conservative action that has characterized the 17th Regiment Kentucky Volunteers since the first blow that was struck by its soldiers in defense of our country's cause before any other troops of the belligerent armies had come in conflict upon the soil of Kentucky.

Sustained by the Constitution of our country which educated him, and which he loves, sustained by the Constitution of his native state and by the statue laws of that State, sustained by his own conscience and by first principles which induced the enlistment of you as well as of himself, sustained by the people, and endorsed by you with no intention of violating the laws of the land, or rebelling against the orders of superior military authority, he is prepared and is as willing to meet this decree of the President as cheerfully as he has met the foe on the battlefields that have been crimsoned with the blood of himself and of the brave officers and soldiers of the regiment which it has been his pride to command, and whose gallantry now forms a part of their country's history. It is an immense source of consolation to him to know that in leaving you he leaves a regiment which is a pride to the loyal heart of our native State, and has been an ornament to the different armies to which it has from time to time been attached. You were the first soldiers to leave Kentucky in defense of our country, and you were the first to return to it in pursuit of the foe that has recently been driven from its borders. You were the only representatives of Kentucky at the Battle of Donelson, and your participation in that conflict has been a theme of praise in the land. You nobly sustained the gallant reputation of your State at Shiloh on the day before it was rendered immortal by the brave sons of Kentucky who joined us from the "Army of The Ohio". The tattered but once beautiful flag presented to you by "the loyal ladies of Owensboro" was the first to wave on the enemy's entrenchments at Corinth. You have won for yourself a name that will be more lasting than "monuments of brass". Your State honors you, and your legion of friends now mention your regiment with a bounding heart. It is with pride that your wives, your children, and your relatives speak of you as "soldiers of the 17th Regiment of Kentucky".

The price of your good name is shown in the fearful list of your comrades who laid down their lives as a sacrifice to their country's honor and integrity, to the perpetuity of her institutions and of the Union. The sad dreams of the past brings mournfully to our minds the names of Captains Morton, Barnett, Hudson, Kinsolving; Lieutenants Griffin, Brown, Campbell, and Condit, with hundreds of others of our comrades who have a place among the heroic dead of our Commonwealth.

When the glorious McClellan took leave of the veterans who had fought with him through the terrible struggles on the Potomac, all that he asked of them was to sustain Gen. Burnside as they had sustained him. So would I say to you as a parting request. Stand by your commanding officer as you have stood by me. Desert not your country in this, her darkest hour of peril. Do not turn traitor or rebel. Discourage seccessionism and disunionism. Interfere not with the "peculiar institution" of the South. Commit not depredations upon private property of any kind. Stand by the principles that you first enlisted upon. Stand by your country and by the Constitution of your country, and when the struggle comes between you and the enemies of the Union, strike with the might and in the fear of the Lord, and the just and wise will sustain you, and the righteous and patriotic will honor you.

John H. McHenry, Jr.,
Col. 17th Ky. Vol.

By order.
(official)

Geo. W. Gist
1st Lt., and Adj.

Shaker Colony at South Union

In the early 1800's, new Shaker colonies were established in Kentucky and Indiana.  The southernmost of these was near the Kentucky-Tennessee border in South Union, Logan County, Kentucky.  Original documents from this colony are stored on microfilm at the Western Kentucky University Library and include a detailed record of the hardships endured by their members during the Civil War.

As mentioned in an earlier post, this colony became a temporary home to Confederate troops from the fall of 1861 until their departure in January 1862.  It then became a major encampment for the Union forces of the District of Western Kentucky, closely associated with the camps along the L&N railroad at Russellville.

The best description of their ordeal may be found in the Shaker Journal 1805-1891 which is currently held at the Western Kentucky University Library.  Especially interesting is their "Letter to President Lincoln from the Shakers".  The excerpt printed below describes their obligatory contributions to both the Union and Confederate troops as a prelude to their appeal for Conscientious Objector Status.

To the Honorable Abraham Lincoln 
President of the United States of America,

Kind Friend Strike, but hear,

The armies of the South like a great prairie fire swept over this part of Kentucky in the fall and winter of 1861.  Licking up the substance of land, we were humbled before it's power and for many months remained the quiet subjects of the Confederate Government, obeying all request save one, which nobly and generously they permitted us to disregard, and that was to take up arms on their behalf. They encamped for days as many as a thousand at a time in our lots and occupied our buildings.  We chopped and hauled wood for their campfires and slaughtered our animals for their commissariat, and at all hours of the night were compelled to furnish diets for hundreds at a time.  They pressed all our wagons and horses of value for army purposes; but for these they paid us a moderate price in Confederate Script.  

                              *  *  *

Your armies have visited us from the small squad of 5 to 6,000 at a time.  Our barns were cheerfully relieved of their contents.  Our fences torn into campfires.  For those we have been paid by you, but gratuitously, have we furnished diets for thousands of your men.  Of this we complain not.  To our uniform kindness (if we must say it) all your armies that have passed us, all your hospitals within our reach, all your past surgeons and commanders can be witness.

When John Morgan destroyed that bridge at Franklin and cut off our supplies your officers pressed our sugar for the hospital purposes.  Our cellars disgorged themselves of nearly a thousand dollars worth, for which so far an account of informality we have given in vain to obtain one cent repayment.

We state these things now, not by way of complaint, but mainly as grounds(coming to your knowledge) on which we may rest a hope that we may be treated on the sensitive point with as much dignity and as much justice as we were by the rebels whilst we were subjects of their government.  Is it impossible that our friends can be as tolerant, as just and generous as their enemies?  Must our prayers now be reserved and shall we now pray to the Lord to be delivered from our friends?*


To be continued...

* from an unpublished manuscript found in the Logan County Public Library, Civil War files, credited to Barry Kennedy.

An Illegal Order

As if Lincoln's threat of emancipation in the Confederate States wasn't enough, the Commander-in-Chief further complicated the turmoil in McHenry's regiment by the issuance of a standing order to the effect that any fugitive slave should be granted refuge and the protection of the United States government if they arrived at a Union encampment.  

This order presented a legal and ethical conflict to Colonel McHenry as it was received while he was serving in Kentucky, where slaves were still considered the rightful property of their owners.  How could he respect the rights of property owners who had remained loyal to the Constitution, as was their policy even in occupied Tennessee, and yet give refuge to runaway slaves? He was forced to choose between following the laws of his state or the order from his Commander-in-Chief.  His legal training suggested that Lincoln's order was unlawful as it violated state law and was not supported by any Federal law or Supreme Court decision.  

The order also presented a practical problem, since the troops that were being ordered to provide refuge to runaway slaves were the same troops that had been ordered by the War Department to live off the land.  Remember the brilliant maxim that the movement of the army was hindered by an abundance of transportation? They obviously could not send the runaways out into the Kentucky countryside to forage for food and the soldiers could not even  find enough supplies to sustain themselves and their animals.  Additionally, when the army did provide rations of food and clothing, their issue was based on the number of soldiers in the regiment-  the refugees were not included. 

As the number of  runaways in the camp grew, providing for their care became an increasing strain on regimental supplies until finally, the colonel felt compelled to issue the following order.


Headquarters, 17th Regiment, Ky. Vols
In the Field, Near Mew Market, Kentucky
October 27, 1862

SPECIAL ORDER:

   No fugitive slave will hereafter be allowed in this regiment, and all officers and soldiers are forbidden from employing any other than slaves or Negroes known to be free.
   All fugitive slaves are hereby ordered to leave this regiment in two weeks from this date.
   All fugitive slaves within the limits of this regiment will be delivered to his owner or agent appointed, upon application whether the owner be loyal or rebel.

By command of John H. McHenry, Jr. 
Col., 17th Inf.

Geo. W. Gist, 
1st Lt., Adjutant*

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* Blackburn, John, A Hundred Miles - A Hundred Heartbreaks, 1972,  LOC 72-93774, pp. 106-107.