CHAPTER XXXI.

RECONSTRUCTION IN THE FIFTH MILITARY DISTRICT.

LOUISIANA - GENERAL SHERIDAN'S REMOVAL OF STATE OFFICIALS - HIS QUARREL WITH, AND REMOVAL OF, GOVERNOR WELLS - THE PRESIDENT'S ORDER AS TO REGISTRATION DISREGARDED-RESULTS OF REGISTRATION-FORTY THOUSAND WHITES EXCLUDED FROM SUFFRAGE-REMOVAL AND APPOINTMENT OF NEW ORLEANS ALDERMEN AND OTHER OFFICERS-GENERAL SHERIDAN SUCCEEDED BY GENERAL HANCOCK-HIS SPECIAL ORDER ON ASSUMING COMMAND-RE-INSTATEMENT OF STATE OFFICIALS-MEETING OF THE STATE CONVENTION-THE NEW CONSTITUTION RATIFIED BY THE PEOPLE-GENERAL HANCOCK'S REMOVAL OF OFFICIALS NOT SUSTAINED BY GENERAL GRANT — GENERAL HANCOCK RELIEVED AT HIS OWN REQUEST — THE DISFRANCHISING CLAUSE OF THE CONSTITUTION-THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN NOVEMBER, 1868-IMMENSE DEMOCRATIC MAJORITIES — EXPLANATION OF THE FACTS-THE NEGROES TERRORIZED AND LARGE NUMBERS OF THEM KILLED-THE LEGISLATURE OF 1869-GOVERNOR WARMOTH'S MESSAGE — MEASURES OF SOCIAL EQUALITY AND OF PUBLIC PLUNDER-LOW OPINION OF THE MEMBERS-LOBBYING AND BRIBING BY THE "BEST PEOPLE"-THE STATE AUDITOR IMPEACHED-THE ELECTION OF NOVEMBER, 1870-THE REPUBLICANS TRIUMPHANT - REPEAL OF THE DISFRANCHISING CLAUSE - QUARREL BETWEEN THE REPUBLICAN FACTIONS-MOVEMENTS AND COUNTER - MOVEMENTS-CHARACTER OF GOVERNOR WARMOTH- HIS EXPOSURE OF LEGISLATIVE PROFLIGACY-MUTUAL CHARGES OF KNAVERY BETWEEN THE REPUBLICAN LEADERS-HOW THEY ALL ENRICHED THEMSELVES -THE FALL ELECTION OF 1872-TWO RETURNING BOARDS DECIDING THE RESULTS DIFFERENTLY-RIVAL LEGISLATURES WARMOTH IMPEACHED-PINCHBACK ASSUMES THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE, AND IS SUSTAINED BY PRESIDENT GRANT-THE PACKARD LEGISLATURE, AND ITS METHODS-THE MCENERY LEGISLATURE ORGANIZED AND SUSTAINED TWO GOVERNORS — KELLOGG AND MCENERY INAUGURATED— SENATE COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY - MCENERY SUSTAINED BY THE PEOPLE - ARREST OF THE MCENERY LEGISLATURE - MILITARY RECOGNITION OF THE KELLOGG GOVERNMENT-MCENERY GIVES UP THE FIGHT-SANGUINARY CONFLICTS IN THE PARISHES-THE COUSHATTA MASSACRE - UPRISING IN NEW ORLEANS AGAINST THE KELLOGG GOVERNMENT-PROCLAMATION BY THE PRESIDENT - KELLOGG'S GOVERNMENT RE-ESTABLISHED BY THE MILITARY - COMPROMISE EFFECTED BY A HOUSE COMMITTEE-FINANCIAL STATEMENT-TEXAS-GENERAL SHERIDAN'S REPORT OF THE BAD CONDITION OF AFFAIRS - GENERAL GRIFFIN'S ORDER-REMOVAL OF THE GOVERNOR AND OTHER STATE OFFICIALS-GENERAL SHERIDAN'S REPORT - HIS REFLECTIONS ON PRESIDENT JOHNSON-THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION-STATISTICS OF CRIME-THE CONSTITUTIONS OF 1868 AND 1876— GENERAL REYNOLDS CO-OPERATING WITH THE RADICALS – FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

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ENERAL Philip Sheridan was appointed commander of the Fifth military district, composed of the states of Louisiana and Texas. In his order assuming command, he announced that the existing state and municipal governments of Louisiana and Texas were provisional only, but that no removals from office would be made unless the incumbents should fail to carry out the provisions of the reconstruction law, or impede "reorganization."

Among the first acts of General Sheridan as commander of the Fifth district were the removals of Judge E. A. Abell, of the criminal court of New Orleans, Andrew S. Herron, Attorney-General of the State of Louisiana, and John T. Monroe, Mayor of the city of New Orleans. These removals were made on the 29th of March, 1867. The ground stated for Judge Abell's removal was that he had, for nine months previous to July 30, 1866, been educating a large portion of the community to the perpetration of the outrages which were committed on that day, by almost promising that there should be no prosecution in his court against the offenders in case such an event occurred. The reason given for the removal of Attorney-General Herron was that, instead of indicting the rioters he indicted the victims, and was therefore a suspected coadjutor of Judge Abell in bringing on the massacre. As to Mayor Monroe, the reason given was that he controlled the element engaged in the riot, and felt secure in the support of the attorneygeneral who would not prosecute the guilty, and of the judge who advised the grand jury to find the innocent guilty and let the murderers go free.

The registration was ordered to commence on the 1st of May and to be completed on the 30th of June. General Sheridan stated in a dispatch to General Grant, that he anticipated no trouble in the work, and that the people generally would register. He said that he had in no way sought to mould the public mind to an acceptance or non-acceptance of the law, but had informed the people that the law would be enforced and the reorganization accomplished; and that he thought his course was not unacceptable to a majority of the people in the state. He said that, in appointing registrars throughout the state, he had invariably selected two citizens residents of the parish, and one ex-army officer from the city of New Orleans. This gave him, he said, a check on each board by having a tried and true man as chairman. He added that he had the boards supervised by intelligent army officers. He intimated that the Attorney-General of the United States should not hamper him too much, as no one could conceive or estimate, at so great a distance, the precautions necessary to be taken in the existing condition of society there.

The legislature of Louisiana, at the session of 1866-'67, had appropriated $4,000,000 in state bonds for repairing the levees. The disbursement of this money gave rise to a quarrel between the governor, James Madison Wells, and the legislature. General Sheridan settled the controversy somewhat after the fashion of the monkey in the fable, when the cats quarreled over the cheese. Both governor and legislature were dismissed, and the money was placed in the hands of a board of commissioners selected by the commander of the Fifth military district. This board was appointed by him on the 3d of May. On the 3d of June, General Sheridan issued a special order embodying a dispatch from Secretary Stanton which directed the suspension of proceedings on the part of the board. The same special order contained

GENERAL SHERIDAN'S OPINION OF GOVERNOR WELLS. 545

the following clause: "His Excellency, the Governor of Louisiana, J. Madison Wells, having made himself an impediment to the faithful execution of the act of Congress of March 2, 1867, by directly and indirectly impeding the general in command in the execution of the law, is hereby removed from the office of governor of Louisiana, and Mr. Thomas J. Durant is appointed thereto. Mr. Durant will be obeyed and respected accordingly."

Mr. Durant declined this appointment, and Benjamin F. Flanders was appointed in his stead.

Governor Wells resisted the order of dismissal as well as he could, but succumbed to the following mandate, dated New Orleans, June 7, and addressed to Mr. J. Madison Wells, ex-Governor of Louisiana :, "Sir,- General Flanders has just informed me that he made an official demand on you for the records of the office which you have hitherto held as governor of Louisiana, and that you have declined to turn them over to him, disputing the right to remove from office by me, which right you have acknowledged and urged on me up to the time of your removal. I therefore send Brevet Brig.-Gen. James W. Forsyth, of my staff, to notify you that he is sent by me to eject you from the governor's room forcibly, unless you consider this notification as equivalent to ejection."

Governor Wells denied in a statement to the President the charges made against him by General Sheridan, as well as his right to make the removal, and in his turn charged the general with being actuated by spite and malice. It is needless to say that Wells surrendered to this peremptory summons, and that Flanders assumed the duties of the office.

In a dispatch to Secretary Stanton of June 3d General Sheridan says: “I say, unequivocally, that Governor Wells is a political trickster and a dishonest man. I have seen him myself, when I first came to this command, turn out all the Union men who had supported the government, and put in their stead rebel soldiers, some of whom had not yet doffed their gray uniform. I have seen him again, during the July riot of 1866, skulk away where I could not find him to give him a guard, instead of coming out as a manly representative of the state and joining those who are preserving the peace. I have watched him since, and his conduct has been as sinuous as the mark left in the dust by the movement of a snake."

In a letter to General Grant on the same subject General Sheridan said that he had found it necessary to remove Governor Wells, who had embarrassed him very much by his subterfuge and political chicanery; that this necessary act would be approved by every class and shade of political opinion, and that Wells had not a friend who was an honest man. In another letter he gave it as his opinion that, by the removal of Wells and the appointment of Flanders, the back-bone of the trouble had been broken.

On the 21st of June, Adjutant-General Townsend sent a dispatch to the commander of the Fifth district, directing him not to close the registra

tion in Louisiana before the 1st of August. An announcement had been made that it would be closed at the end of June. General Sheridan, in a dispatch to General Grant, entered a sort of protest against this order, and against the Attorney-General's interpretation of the law, stating that it was practically opening a broad, macadamized road for perjury and fraud to travel on. He added: "I regret that I should have to differ with the President, but it must be recollected that I have been ordered to execute a law to which the President has been in bitter antagonism." Still, he said he would extend the time at once if the President's order were peremptory. It may be added that this deference to the authority of the President, reluctant though it was, and not without a protest against the necessity of obedience, preceded the passage of the supplementary bill which stripped the President of his constitutional rights as the chief executive of the Union, and conferred them, in the premises, upon the General of the army. That act bears date July 19, and besides directly limiting to these officers authority to interpret the acts, it declares "that no district commander or member of the board of registration, or any of the officers or appointees acting under them, shall be bound in his action by any opinion of any civil officer of the United States."

General Sheridan informed General Grant on the 28th of June that the Adjutant-General had sent him the opinion of the Attorney-General, construing the Reconstruction acts; but he expressed a doubt as to whether he must regard that as mandatory, as coming from the President. General Grant

replied as follows: "Enforce your own construction of the military bill until ordered to do otherwise. The opinion of the Attorney-General has not been distributed to the district commanders in language or manner entitling it to the form of an order, nor can I suppose that the President intended it to have such force."

The numerous classes which were excluded from registration by the military construction of the law, and which included justices of the peace, clerks of courts and their deputies, sheriffs and their deputies, constables and their deputies, tax collectors, assessors, coroners, police jurors, auctioneers, all who had served on the police force, members of the board of health, and others too numerous to mention, notwithstanding that they had been declared by Mr. Stanbery, the Attorney-General, to be entitled to that privilege, were thus ruled out. The books of registration were kept open, however, until the 31st of July. The result of the registration shows how rigorously the military idea was carried into effect. The two races in Louisiana were about equal in numbers; but of the 127,639 who were registered, only 47,732 were white, while 82,907 were colored.

An election was held on the 27th and 28th of September, to decide whether a convention should be called to amend the constitution, and the result was that there were 75,083 votes cast for a convention, and only 4,006

GENERAL HANCOCK AT NEW ORLEANS.

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against it. Comparing the white registration with the census, it appears that some forty thousand whites must have been excluded from the right of suffrage.

On the 1st of August, General Sheridan removed twenty-two New Orleans aldermen and appointed others in their stead, assigning as his reasons for the removal, the disturbed condition of affairs to which they had brought the city, and the efforts made by them to impede the execution of the act of Congress. During the same month, the city treasurer, the chief of police, and the city attorney were removed for like reasons, and others were appointed in their stead. In the parishes, justices, sheriffs, and other officers were removed on specific charges of screening murderers, or allowing them to escape from prison.

On the 17th of August, the President issued an order relieving General Sheridan from the command of the Fifth military district, and directing that Gen. George H. Thomas should succeed him. But it being repre

sented to the President that General Thomas's health was infirm, and that the climate would not agree with him, Gen. Winfield S. Hancock was assigned to the command of the Fifth district. During the interim, General Sheridan having been sent to Fort Leavenworth in command of the Department of Missouri, General Griffin, commander of the sub-district of Texas, was appointed temporary commander of the Fifth military district. He, however, died of yellow fever, and was succeeded by Maj.-Gen. Joseph A. Mower.

It having been represented to General Mower that political organizations, composed mostly of negroes, were in the practice of assembling in armed bands under military leaders, greatly to the annoyance of peaceful people, that officer issued a general order that such practices should be discontinued. He also removed the lieutenant-governor, the secretary of state, the treasurer, the auditor of public accounts, and many other officers, as "impediments to reconstruction," and appointed others in their places. The order on that subject was issued on the 21st of November, 1867, but was suspended by order of General Grant.

General Hancock arrived in New Orleans on the 28th of November, 1867, and on the next day announced his assumption of the command of the Fifth district, in a special order. The second paragraph of this order reads as follows:

"The general commanding is gratified to learn that peace and quiet reign in this department, and it will be his purpose to preserve this condition of things. As a means to this great end he regards the maintenance of the civil authorities in the faithful execution of the laws as the most efficient under existing circumstances. In war it is indispensable to repel force by force, and to overthrow and destroy opposition to lawful authority; but when insurrectionary force has been overthrown, peace established, and the civil authorities are ready and willing to perform their duties, the military power