JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - A program exploring General John C. Fremont's command in Missouri during the Civil War has been scheduled.
The program will feature historian Robert Schultz speaking about "Fremont's Hundred Days in Missouri." The program will be 7 p.m. Aug. 17 at the Missouri State Archives.
As southern states seceded from the Union at the beginning of the Civil War, many officers with roots in the region resigned their commissions to fight with the Confederacy. In 1861, as Northern volunteers rushed to enlist in the Union Army, Washington was faced with a distinct lack of quality officers to command the new enlistees. As a result, many officers who had earlier resigned to enter civilian life were recalled for military service.
Fremont was one of these men. He seemed the ideal candidate - a well-known western explorer, the first senator from the new state of California and, in 1856, the first presidential candidate of the new Republican Party. President Abraham Lincoln commissioned Fremont as a major general and gave him command of the Department of the West, tasking him with keeping Missouri in the Union. His tenure in Missouri was short-lived, however. Just 100 days into his command, he was removed for issuing a controversial proclamation emancipating the state's slaves and instituting martial law.
Schultz will explore the reasons behind Fremont's precipitous removal.
The Missouri State Archives is the official repository for state documents of permanent historic value, and is at 600 W. Main St., Jefferson City. All programs at the archives are free of charge and open to the public, with seating available on a first-come, first-served basis.
For more information on this and other programming at the Archives, contact Emily Luker, 573-526-5296 or [email protected].