Q and A from Readers August 2023

The following are questions and comments from readers I have received over the past year. I answer every one, as long as they are courteous, even if they disagree with my point of view.

Q.  I recently ran across a mention of a guerilla raid by Union Cavalry that confounded the Confederate forces from Tennessee to Louisiana.  The author said it was the longest, most continuous, and most successful such operation of the Civil War, surpassing the exploits of the Confederate Partisans like Mosby. It was only a footnote to the main story about Mosby’s Raiders. Do you know more about the story?

A. I can only guess that the author was referring to what became known as Grierson’s Raid. The location certainly fits. I wouldn’t, however, compare this unit to the Confederate’s Mosby’s Raiders. Colonel Benjamin Grierson was a Union Officer, commanding a Union Cavalry unit under the overall command of Ulysses S. Grant, while Mosby’s unit usually operated more independently from Confederate commanders. During General Grant’s campaign to control the Mississippi river and capture the strategic city of Vicksburg, he wanted the Confederate leaders to be unsure of his specific plans, so he created feints and distractions to keep the enemy off-guard. Colonel Grierson’s orders were to travel south through Confederate territory and cause as much havoc as possible to draw resources from the potential defense of Vicksburg. He was successful! They left Tennessee in April 1863 and rode (and battled) their way to Baton Rouge, which was already under Union control. He arrived there in May and, along the way, they destroyed Confederate supply depots, railroads, bridges, and fought skirmishes with Southern troops guarding the facilities. Col. Grierson would occasionally divide his over 1,600 troops and attack different targets simultaneously, which gave the Confederate officers the impression that his force was much larger than it was and caused confusion as they tried to figure out his mission’s goals. Meanwhile, General Grant began a siege of Vicksburg and captured the city in early July 1863. The Union controlled the Mississippi river thereafter and Col. Grierson and his men contributed to that victory. He lost about 20 men during the “raid” but killed, captured, and wounded over 500 Confederate soldiers. Not bad for a guy who did not like to ride horses! The story is told that he was kicked by one as a boy and never forgave the breed.

Q. I read an article about Abraham Lincoln’s willingness to make deals to get things done; it seems he recognized that compromise is better than stalemate, which is a noble part of democracy. But, the article also pointed out that he was willing to trade favors to get ahead politically, which is not so noble. One claim was that he fired a cabinet member, not because the man was doing a poor job, but to satisfy another powerful politician who despised the man’s family and who, in return, agreed to not run against Lincoln for his second term. Was Lincoln that ambitious?

A. Short answer, yes. He was certainly ambitious, but a person would have to be to run for that office; even then as much as now. As to the incident to which you refer, I believe it involved Montgomery Blair, Lincoln’s Postmaster General and son of Francis Blair, a powerful Republican leader. The antagonist was John Charles Fremont, a potential rival for the 1864 Republican nomination. First, you must understand that Lincoln’s popularity in early 1864 was not very high and many thought that he might lose the Republican nomination or, even if he was re-nominated, lose the election to a Democrat (likely to be George McClellan). Fremont was a formidable challenger and despised the Blair family for an incident that occurred when he and another Blair son were both in the Army. The Blair son reported that Fremont had committed some alleged impropriety and Freemont vehemently denied the charge. It was never settled to either man’s satisfaction, but the enmity was never forgotten. Fremont, who became known as “The Pathfinder” was already a national hero for his explorations of the western territories and was a popular Union general early in the Civil War. In 1862, Lincoln removed General Fremont from command for declaring that slaves in his jurisdiction were free, before Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was effective. Lincoln said he wanted to prevent “Government by Generals.” Fremont then began a campaign designed to oust Lincoln as the Republican nominee in 1864. In a behind the scenes maneuver, Lincoln agreed to fire Montgomery Blair and Fremont agreed to drop his campaign. However, it wasn’t just about self-preservation for Lincoln. He was convinced that Fremont would be such a radical president that there could never be reconciliation between North and South and that Fremont would not have the political will to drive the 13th Amendment which could end slavery for all time. It was certainly a trade with the devil, but one Lincoln thought was worth it. Interestingly, the Blair family remained supportive of Lincoln in both the 1864 election and the fight for passage of the 13th amendment. I had written earlier about this episode titled, “Sacrificing Montgomery Blair” but it was not widely published. I may re-issue it for the readers of this blog.

Q. I recently saw a factoid that stated that Elias Allred was a Southern preacher, a Confederate officer, an abolitionist, and helped Union prisoners-of-war escape. Those are serious contradictions. Have you heard of him? Can this strange combination of activities in one man possibly be true?

A. Yes, most of it is true. I would say that his personal moral code made him always a champion of the underdog, even if that placed him in conflict with his other commitments. Elias Walker Allred was a Baptist preacher with a large following. But, even as a devoted Georgian and southerner, he was also opposed to the expansion of slavery, hoping the ugly institution would die out over time. With that position, however, he could not be considered an abolitionist (who wanted slavery abolished now!). He did recognize other legitimate Southern economic grievances so, when the Civil War broke out, he was appointed an officer in the Georgia militia, but did not serve directly in the Confederate Army. As an officer, he believed that prisoners-of war should be treated humanely and respectfully and demanded the men under his command do so. On one occasion, when he learned that a small group of Union prisoners was being mistreated by another Confederate unit, he arranged for their pardon and return home (but not really an escape) At the time the Civil War started, he was a significant land-owner, but used his land for cattle and timber and owned no slaves. He had a lucrative tanning business, owned a hotel and was serving as a representative in the State legislature. However, an incident in 1864, created lasting friction between Elias and some of his neighbors and within the Confederate Army. The Union Army had sent a cavalry unit in the vicinity of Elias’s home to end raids on Union trains and other supply lines by a small group of Confederate sympathizers. The Cavalry also intended to protect the many local residents who were no longer supporting the Confederate cause. Elias, and five other area businessmen, met with the Union Commander and agreed that if the Union would arm a few local residents (presumably under Elias) they could defend themselves and end the raids by Confederates. Although not specifically pro-Union, their small militia successfully protected citizens and thwarted the Southern raiders, but as you can imagine, his actions cost him the friendship of a large number of Georgians. After the Civil War ended, some of those who opposed his more enlightened views and thought he had not given full commitment to the Confederacy, looted his properties and left him nearly penniless. It did not seem to deter him. Later in his life, he organized roving squads to protect farmers who testified against moonshiners who had stolen their crops. All in all, an interesting life!  I may try to put together a more informative article about him.