The
express purpose of the Northern invasion and occupation of Louisiana in
1862 was to forcibly hold the State in the Northern union, and through
the imposition of a military-directed civil government. Despite the
State already having a freely-elected legislature and governor, the
Northern Congress proclaimed them criminals and supervised the
establishment of a new administration under military control. The
Michael Hahn mentioned below was a German immigrant to New York and then
Texas, and a prewar import to Louisiana.
Bernhard Thuersam, Chairman
North Carolina War Between the States Sesquicentennial Commission
"Unsurpassed Valor, Courage and Devotion to Liberty"
"The Official Website of the North Carolina WBTS Sesquicentennial"
Experimenting with Federally-Occupied State Governments
“Louisiana’s
situation was particularly bad because from the time that General
Benjamin F. Butler and his troops came to New Orleans on May 1, 1862,
south Louisiana was lost to the Confederacy.
The loss of control of the
Mississippi River isolated most of Louisiana and Texas. And while the
war was going on in other places the Federal government was already
experimenting with the “redemption” of Louisianians.
By
January, 1864, Federal forces occupying Louisiana were intent upon
effecting a civil government through which they could enact laws and
render conditions amicable to their interests. On January 11, General
N.P. Banks issued a proclamation ordering an election of State officials
in federally-occupied Louisiana. By “federally-occupied,” he
acknowledged the division within the State.
In the meantime, Governor [Thomas O.] Moore delivered his farewell address, and on January 25 Henry Watkins Allen was inaugurated . . . governor of Louisiana. On March 4,
Michael Hahn was inaugurated governor of Federal Louisiana . . . [and]
the reality of two State administrations was a source of despair [for
Louisianians].
The
Union army captured Fort DeRussey and the interior of Alexandria and
Natchitoches in March of 1864. A convention was held in New Orleans of April 6
to draft a constitution for federally-occupied Louisiana . . . [and on]
July 23, 1864, a Republican convention revised the constitution and
abolished slavery. On October 12,
a resolution of [the US] Congress ordered the attorney general to
institute criminal proceedings against all members of the 1860 Louisiana
legislature who had voted for the Convention of Secession.
O
June 2, 1865, Governor Allen delivered a farewell proclamation to the
people of Louisiana and went into exile in Mexico . . . “
(Louisiana Legacy, A History of the State National Guard, Evans C. Casso, Pelican Publishing, 1976, pp. 83-85)
Secession will (most likely) not be an option or concern in the next conflagration. Thus making Federal oversight and abuse, such as witnessed in La., the primary problem that will have to be overcome.
ReplyDeleteFederal oversight and abuse, such as witnessed in La., the primary problem that will have to be overcome.
DeleteAs it is today.