Frémont Emancipation facts for kids
The Frémont Emancipation was a special military order. It was issued by Major General John C. Frémont on August 30, 1861. This happened in St. Louis, Missouri, early in the American Civil War. Frémont's order put Missouri under strict military rule, called martial law. It also said that anyone fighting against the United States would lose their property. This included their enslaved people, who would then be set free. The order also threatened capital punishment for rebels.
Frémont was a military officer and politician. He was in charge of the Department of the West from July to October 1861. He said his order was meant to stop people from leaving the Union in Missouri. But it caused big reactions across the country. It suggested the Civil War might become a war to free enslaved people. This was a very controversial idea at the time.
For President Abraham Lincoln, this order created a tough problem. He wanted to keep the support of states like Missouri, Kentucky, and Maryland. These were "border states" that allowed slavery but stayed in the Union. Lincoln also had to consider Radical Republicans who wanted to end slavery completely.
People across the country reacted differently to Frémont's order. Those who wanted to end slavery loved it. But others, who were more conservative, demanded Frémont be removed. Lincoln wanted to undo Frémont's actions and keep political balance. So, he ordered Frémont to take back his order on September 11, 1861. Lincoln then sent officials to Missouri to find reasons to remove Frémont. They focused on Frémont's leadership skills, not his views on slavery. On October 22, 1861, Lincoln ordered Frémont removed from his command.
Even though Lincoln disagreed with Frémont's method, this event was important. It helped Lincoln decide how to approach freeing enslaved people. About 16 months later, Lincoln issued his own Emancipation Proclamation.
Contents
Frémont's Background and Role
Who Was John C. Frémont?
John C. Frémont was born in Savannah, Georgia in 1813. By the 1850s, he became a leading politician against slavery. In 1838, he joined the U.S. Army's Bureau of Topographical Engineers. This group mapped out new lands.
As a young officer, Frémont explored the American West in the 1840s. He successfully mapped a route across the Rocky Mountains to California. This earned him the nickname "the Pathfinder." He became a national hero. During the Mexican–American War (1846–1848), Frémont led American settlers in California. He was made military governor of California in 1847.
However, Frémont's independent actions caused problems with other senior officers. He was arrested and later resigned from the Army in 1848. He returned to California and became one of its first senators in 1850. In 1856, Frémont was the first presidential candidate for the new Republican Party. This party wanted to stop slavery from spreading to new states. Frémont lost the election but won 33 percent of the popular vote.
Frémont's Civil War Command
When the Civil War began in April 1861, Frémont wanted to rejoin the army. He was made a major general. This made him the third-highest-ranking general in the U.S. Army at that time. Frémont was put in charge of the Department of the West. This huge area included all states and territories between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains. It also included Illinois and western Kentucky.
His headquarters were in St. Louis, Missouri. Frémont arrived there and took command on July 25, 1861. His main job was to gain control of the state of Missouri.
Missouri's Difficult Situation
Missouri at the Start of the War
Missouri was a very divided state when the Civil War started. It chose to stay neutral, meaning it didn't pick a side between the Union and the Confederacy. However, slavery was still legal in Missouri. This made many people there feel sympathy for the Confederacy.
The governor of Missouri at the time, Claiborne Fox Jackson, supported leaving the Union. He tried to use the Missouri State Militia to fight against Union forces building up in his state.
Early Union Generals in Missouri
Before Frémont, two other generals led the Department of the West. Brigadier General William S. Harney tried a peaceful approach. He made a truce with Sterling Price, who led the Missouri State Militia. This truce tried to respect Missouri's neutrality.
However, President Lincoln and many Union supporters didn't like the truce. They felt Missouri's neutrality meant it wouldn't send soldiers to the Union army. Harney was removed on May 30, 1861. He was replaced by Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon. Lyon was a strong supporter of the Union.
Earlier, Lyon had caused tension in Missouri. He acted on his own and captured part of the Missouri State Militia. This happened during the Camp Jackson Affair on May 10, 1861. This action removed a threat to the St. Louis Arsenal. But it also led to a riot in St. Louis.
As commander, Lyon met with Governor Jackson. He told Jackson he would rather see everyone in Missouri dead than let the state tell the government what to do. After this, open fighting began between pro-Confederate groups and Union forces. Governor Jackson fled St. Louis. The Missouri State Militia was reorganized into the Missouri State Guard. This was a pro-secession force led by Sterling Price and Governor Jackson.
The Battle of Wilson's Creek
By the time Frémont took command in St. Louis on July 25, 1861, Union forces had already fought several battles. On August 10, about 11,000 Confederate and Missouri State Guard troops attacked Lyon's Union force. Lyon had about 5,000 troops near Springfield, Missouri.
During the Battle of Wilson's Creek, General Lyon was killed. The Union forces were defeated. After this battle, support for leaving the Union grew stronger in Missouri. Union officials estimated that about 60,000 armed people in Missouri supported the Confederacy. Frémont was worried by this growing unrest. So, on August 30, 1861, he declared martial law in Missouri.
Frémont's Proclamation and Reactions
What the Proclamation Said
Just before dawn on August 30, Frémont finished writing his martial law order. He read it to his wife and a trusted advisor. His advisor warned him that officials in Washington would not approve of such a strong order. Frémont believed he had the power to stop the rebellion in Missouri. He felt his order was necessary for the war effort.
The most debated part of the order, which caused the biggest political stir, said:
All persons who shall be taken with arms in their hands within these lines shall be tried by court-martial, and, if found guilty, will be shot. The property, real and personal, of all persons in the State of Missouri who shall take up arms against the United States, and who shall be directly proven to have taken active part with their enemies in the field, is declared to be confiscated to the public use; and their slaves, if any they have, are hereby declared free.
This part had two very strong measures. It threatened to execute any rebels caught with weapons north of a certain line. It also said that enslaved people owned by rebels would be freed. Frémont issued this order without asking anyone in Missouri or Washington for approval.
Immediate Impact and Political Effects
Frémont's order actually freed very few enslaved people. Two enslaved men, Frank Lewis and Hiram Reed, who belonged to an aide of former Governor Jackson, were given their freedom papers. This event was widely reported by newspapers in St. Louis. Frémont then issued papers to 21 other enslaved people.
However, the biggest impact of the order was political. It set a new idea: that the Civil War was a fight against slavery. This idea caused huge disagreement. It threatened the delicate balance in the border states. If the federal government had supported this idea early in the war, Missouri, Kentucky, and Maryland might have joined the Confederacy.
Reactions in Missouri and Kentucky
Union supporters in Missouri had mixed reactions. Radical Republicans, who strongly wanted to end slavery, were thrilled. Many newspapers in St. Louis supported Frémont. Frémont surrounded himself with people who shared his views. Several Radical Republican politicians came to St. Louis as his advisors. These included Illinois Congressman Owen Lovejoy and others. These strong abolitionists encouraged Frémont's proclamation.
More moderate Union supporters were worried by Frémont's order. Pro-slavery conservatives were very angry. The new governor of Missouri, Hamilton Rowan Gamble, was especially upset. He felt Frémont had gone too far by declaring martial law. Governor Gamble began working to get Frémont removed.
In nearby Kentucky, there was widespread anger. Even though the order only applied to Missouri, Kentuckians feared a similar order might come to their state. Most enslaved people in Kentucky belonged to Union supporters. Threatening to free them could have pushed Kentucky into the Confederacy.
Lincoln's Response and Frémont's Removal
Lincoln's Concerns
President Lincoln found out about Frémont's order by reading it in the newspaper. He was very troubled. Lincoln believed that freeing enslaved people was not a military decision. He felt only the elected federal government had such power. Lincoln also saw the huge political problem this order created for keeping the border states in the Union.
He was especially worried about the strong reactions in Kentucky. He wrote, "I think to lose Kentucky is nearly the same as to lose the whole game." Lincoln heard that a Kentucky militia unit fighting for the Union dropped their weapons and left after hearing about Frémont's order. Lincoln decided the order could not stay in effect.
However, directly canceling the order would make abolitionists in the North very angry. Lincoln was careful about these political challenges. He wrote to Frémont, asking him to change the order himself.
Frémont's Refusal and Removal
Frémont wrote back to Lincoln on September 8, 1861. He sent his wife, Jessie Benton Frémont, to deliver the letter to Washington. She met with the President on September 10. In his letter, Frémont said he knew the situation in Missouri better than the President. He also said he would not cancel the order unless directly told to do so.
Lincoln was angered by Frémont's refusal. The next day, he wrote to Frémont directly. He ordered Frémont to change the part about freeing enslaved people. It had to follow existing federal law. This law only allowed enslaved people who were actively fighting against the Union to be freed.
Lincoln could not let Frémont's disobedience go unpunished. But he still faced a political problem. Removing Frémont over the slavery issue would upset many in Congress. So, Lincoln decided that if Frémont was removed, it would be for other reasons. He sent officials to Missouri to check on Frémont's management of his department.
One official reported that Frémont's department was very disorganized. He said Frémont seemed "stunned" and "doing absolutely nothing." When another official inspected and reported Frémont was "wholly incompetent," Lincoln decided to share this report with the press. Amidst public anger against Frémont, Lincoln ordered his removal on October 22, 1861.
What Happened Next
Frémont's Later Career
For Frémont, his order had serious personal consequences. Being removed from command badly hurt his reputation. Lincoln gave Frémont a second chance. He appointed him to command the Mountain Department. This area was important, near the Virginia and Kentucky border.
However, Frémont's forces were defeated in the Battle of Cross Keys in Virginia on June 8, 1862. He later resigned because he was frustrated. Lincoln had appointed another general, John Pope, to command the Army of Virginia, passing over Frémont. Frémont spent the rest of the war waiting for a new appointment that never came.
Lincoln's Path to Emancipation
For Lincoln, Frémont's removal caused anger among northern abolitionists. Massachusetts Governor John Albion Andrew said Lincoln's actions had a "chilling influence" on the anti-slavery movement. However, this anger was short-lived and soon faded.
The most important long-term result of the Frémont Emancipation was its effect on Lincoln's ideas about freeing enslaved people. Historian Allen Guelzo explains that after Frémont's failed order, Lincoln became determined. He believed that emancipation could not be a temporary military order. It had to be done by the federal government in a way that was clearly constitutional.
Also, Lincoln realized the timing of emancipation was crucial. It had to be done carefully so it wouldn't hurt the war effort. In 1861, Lincoln still hoped to work with states to free enslaved people gradually. But the Frémont incident made Lincoln believe that freeing enslaved people was the President's job. It could not be done by scattered orders from Union generals. This understanding was one of the reasons that led to Lincoln's own Emancipation Proclamation in September 1862.
Images for kids
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Death of Brig. Gen. Lyon during the Battle of Wilson's Creek
