To All Peaceably-Disposed Citizens of the State of Missouri,
Greeting:
Whereas a solemn agreement has been entered into by and
between Maj.-Gens. Fremont and Price, respectively,
commanding; antagonistic forces in the State of Missouri, to
the effect that in the future arrests or forcible
interference by armed or unarmed parties of citizens within
the limits of said State for the mere entertainment or
expression of political opinions shall hereafter cease; that
families now broken up for such causes may be reunited, and
that the war now progressing shall be exclusively confined
to armies in the field:
Therefore, be it known to all whom it may concern:
1. No arrests whatever on account of political opinions, or
for the merely private expression of the same, shall
hereafter be made within the limits of the State of
Missouri, and all persons who may have been arrested and are
now held to answer upon such charges only shall be forthwith
released; but it is expressly declared that nothing in this
proclamation shall be construed to bar or interfere with any
of the usual and regular proceedings of the established
courts under statutes and orders made and provided for such
offenses.
2. All peaceably disposed citizens who may have been driven
from their homes because of their political opinions, or who
may have left them from fear of force and violence, are
hereby advised and permitted to return, upon the faith of
our positive assurances that while so returning they shall
receive protection from both the armies in the field
wherever it can be given.
3. All bodies of armed men acting without the authority or
recognition of the Major-Generals before named, and not
legitimately connected with the armies in the field, are
hereby ordered at once to disband.
4. Any violation of either of the foregoing articles shall
subject the offender to the penalty of military law,
according to the nature of the offense.
In testimony whereof the aforesaid Maj.-Gen. John Charles
Fremont, at Springfield, Mo., on this 1st day of November,
A. D. 1861, and Maj.-Gen. Sterling Price, at Cassville, Mo.,
on this 6th day of November, A. D. 1861, have hereunto set
their hands, and hereby mutually pledge their earnest
efforts to the enforcement of the above articles of
agreement according to their full tenor and effect, to the
best of their ability.
J. C FREMONT, Major-General Commanding.
STERLING PRICE, Major-General Commanding.
The practical effect of this was that Price was allowed to send such of his men as he wished home for the Winter, with a safeguard against their being molested by the Union troops, but it had no effect in protecting Union men from being harassed by guerrilla tormentors, who cared as little for conventions and proclamations as for the Sermon on the Mount.
In the meanwhile Fremont's astonishing ill success in purely military matters, the freely expressed opinion of all who came in contact with him as to his glaring incompetence, added to the fearful stories of the corruption of the men immediately surrounding him, were making his position very insecure. President Lincoln sent his intimate and life-long friend, David Davis, whom he was about to elevate to the Supreme Bench, to St. Louis with a commission to investigate the rank-smelling contracts and disbursements. No report was ever made public, but it was generally known that they found even worse than they feared.
The Secretary of War, Simon Cameron, undertook a tour of investigation on his own account, accompanied by Adj't-Gen. Lorenzo Thomas. Some of the things which they found are set forth in the following extracts from the memorandum from Gen. Thomas to his superior officer:
Gen. Curtis said of Gen. Fremont that he found no difficulty in having: access to him, and when he presented business connected with his command, it was attended to. Gen. Fremont never consulted him on military matters, nor informed him of his plans. Gen. Curtis remarked that while he would go with freedom to Gen. Scott and express his opinions, he would not dare to do so to Gen. Fremont. He deemed Gen. Fremont unequal to the command of an army, and said that he was no more bound by law than by the winds.
Col. Andrews, Chief Paymaster, called and presented irregularities in the Pay Department, and desired instruction from the Secretary for his government, stating: that he was required to make payments and transfers of money contrary to law and regulations. Once, upon objecting to what he conceived an improper payment, he was threatened with confinement by a file of soldiers. He exhibited an order for the transfer of $100,000 to the Quartermaster's Department, which was irregular. Exhibited abstract of payment by one Paymaster (Maj. Febiger) to 42 persons, appointed by Gen. Fremont, viz: one Colonel, three Majors, eight Captains, 15 First lieutenants, 11 Second Lieutenants, one Surgeon, three Assistant Surgeons; total 42. Nineteen of these have appointments as engineers, and are entitled to cavalry pay.
Maj. Allen, Principal Quartermaster, had recently taken charge at St Louis, but reported great irregularities in his Department, and requested special Instructions. These he deemed important, as orders were communicated by a variety of persons, in a very irregular manner, requiring disbursements of money. These orders were often verbally given. He was sending, under Gen. Fremont's orders, large amounts of forage from St. Louis to.... where corn was abundant and very cheap. The distance was 160 miles. He gave the indebtedness of the Quartermaster's Department in St. Louis to be $4,606,809.73.