October 25, 1863, Saint Louis, Mo.,
Major-General J. M. Schofield to The President, Washington, D. C.

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE MISSOURI,
Saint Louis, October 25, 1863.

 The PRESIDENT,  Washington, D. C.:

Mr. PRESIDENT: I take the liberty of sending you a letter which I have this day received from Hon. Willard P. Hall, Lieutenant-Governor of Missouri. It may be of interest to you as showing the good effect of the stringent measures which I felt compelled to adopt in some portions of Missouri, and of the firm support you have given me. The immediate effect, as might have been expected, was a terrible storm, but it has passed away, I hope never to return. The State is now in far better condition than it has been at any time during the war.

I have issued an election order, in compliance with your instructions, with which all parties express themselves satisfied. It seems I have at last succeeded in doing one thing which nobody can find fault with.

Shelby's raid has terminated with a loss of about one half of the men with which he entered the State, and he received no recruits, except the robbers under Quantrill and Jackman. These left the State with him. This fact is gratifying as showing that the rebel power in Missouri is completely broken. Whatever may be the secret feelings of the former secessionists of Missouri, their influence now, so far as it is exerted at all, is for peace and submission to the national authority. All that is now necessary to secure peace to Missouri, with the possible exception of occasional raids from Arkansas, is union among the loyal people. I shall spare no efforts to reconcile their differences as far as possible, or to at least restrain their quarrel within peaceable limits. The additional strength your support has given me will enable me to do this far better than before. My radical friends now exhibit some disposition to stop their war upon me, and I shall not certainly give them any good reason for continuing it. The honest enthusiasts on the subject of liberty, who compose the respectable portion of this party, are already well disgusted with their lawless brethren, who have brought such odium upon them, and now begin to realize the necessity of sustaining me in enforcing the laws.

Whatever may be the result of the pending election, I believe the most serious danger is already past. I shall not fail to exercise great forbearance in enforcing restrictions upon speech and press. I have enforced my order in only one case, and that so clear that the offender freely confessed and asked pardon on any terms. It will not, probably, be necessary for me to exercise any control over their press hereafter.

Your accurate application of the real difficulty here, and the strong and generous manner in which you have sustained me, will do more good in Missouri than to have doubled the troops under my command. This I hope soon to show you by sending additional forces to the front. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

 J. M. SCHOFIELD,

Major-General.

[Inclosure ]

October 21, Saint Joseph, Mo.,  Lieutenant-Governor Willard P. Hall to Major-General Schofield

visits since 02/04/2004
page revised 05/25/2006