[( 1) See War Records, Vol. XIII, p. 7.]
[( 2) The whole correspondence may be found in the War Records, Vol. XXII, part ii.]
CHAPTER V In Command of the Department of the Missouri—Troops Sent to General Grant—Satisfaction of the President—Conditions on which Governor Gamble would Continue in Office—Anti-Slavery Views—Lincoln on Emancipation in Missouri—Trouble Following the Lawrence Massacre —A Visit to Kansas, and the Party Quarrel There—Mutiny in the State Militia—Repressive Measures—A Revolutionary Plot.
On May 24, 1863, I relieved General Curtis in command of the
Department of the Missouri. In his instructions of May 22, General
Halleck said:
"You owe your appointment entirely to the choice of the President himself. I have not, directly or indirectly, interfered in the matter. But I fully concur in the choice, and will give you all possible support and assistance in the performance of the arduous duties imposed upon you."
IN COMMAND OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE MISSOURI
A few days later I received the following significant letter from the President:
"Executive Mansion, Washington, May 27, 1863.
"General J. M. Schofield:
"My dear Sir: Having relieved General Curtis and assigned you to the command of the Department of the Missouri, I think it may be of some advantage for me to state to you why I did it.
"I did not relieve General Curtis because of any full conviction that he had done wrong by commission or omission. I did it because of a conviction in my mind that the Union men of Missouri, constituting, when united, a vast majority of the whole people, have entered into a pestilent factional quarrel among themselves— General Curtis, perhaps not of choice, being the head of one faction, and Governor Gamble that of the other. After months of labor to reconcile the difficulty, it seemed to grow worse and worse, until I felt it my duty to break it up somehow; and as I could not remove Governor Gamble, I had to remove General Curtis.