Letter signed Edward Bates, Attorney General’s Office, to Governor H.R. Gamble. The New York Times of Aug 7 contained a very false and foolish article denouncing you and your proclamation. It struck me with astonishment, and even more for its folly than its wickedness. I cannot yet find a fact or a motive by which to account for it, and am left to guess that it is one of Mitchell’s epileptic fits of nonsense; for I am confident that Raymond is not fool enough to have written or sanctioned such a compound of wickedness and stupidity. Don’t let such things as that disturb you equanimity, and don’t trouble yourself to counteract its effects outside of Missouri. On this side, others will see to it, for in reality it concerns the public far more than it does you. I have written Mr. Raymond the Chief Editor of The Times [to] retract the article. We are in deep anxiety about the present disturbed condition of Missouri. For mercy’s sake, cooperate heartily with the Federal powers, whether you exactly approve of everything done or not. Make every effort and any sacrifice to suppress the social war within the state, and to drive out the invaders so as to remove the seat of war below our southern line. To avoid the evil that is now upon Missouri, I have, for more than two months, been seeing the occupation by our troops of western Arkansas – the thrusting in of a wedge of our power between Arkansas and Indians. Fort Smith and Van Buren ought to be held by us, and both rivers [White and Arkansas] controlled. It was not to be expected that Congress would do everything wisely and well. Some of their proceedings are not to my liking; but in the main, they have nobly sustained the nation in this trying crisis. I know you will approve of their acknowledgment of God, and their call upon the President to proclaim a fast. BY command of the President, I wrote the brief proclamation which you will see in the papers. I never before felt such necessity for faith and dependence, and never such cheerful comfort in believing. Individuals mentioned include New York Times, Edit Mr. Raymond, Mitchell and Congress. Places mentioned include Missouri, Arkansas, White River and Arkansas River. (3 pages), 1861 Aug 12

Item — Box: 9, Folder: 7

Staff Only

Letter signed Edw. Bates [Edward Bates], Attorney General's Office, to Gov. H.R. Gamble, Jefferson City, August 12, 1861

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

The Hamilton Rowan Gamble Papers consist of deeds, early land grants, surveys, a St. Louis court docket book (1816-1833), bills of sale, legal papers regarding land ownership and business agreements, letters pertaining to causes of the Civil War, letters regarding the raising of a state militia, correspondence with political and military leaders, account books and receipts. Papers pertaining to land cases include deeds from French and Spanish ownership of this area, such as a deed between Pierre Chouteau and his wife who sold land for $248 to Meriwether Lewis (box 1/folder 2); a land grant to Andrew Bowen from President James Monroe with the presidential seal (box 1/folder 5); notes on Doit Delany’s land between Creve Coeur Lake and the Missouri River, part of a land grant to Antoine Reynal by the Spanish government (box 6/folder 1); a copy of the land paper from May 23, 1772, signed by Laclede Liguest, et al., designating land granted in the name of the king (box 5/folder 3). Papers regarding slave cases in the courts of Missouri include an 1805 freedom suit by Celeste, an Indian woman, versus Madame Chevalier (box 1/folder 2). An 1827 case of Margrite versus Pierre Chouteau, Sr., explains that the plaintiff’s grandmother, an Indian, was taken in war by the French and possibly sold as a slave in 1769 (box 2/folder 5). Subsequent papers in the collection show that the case was dismissed in 1838 for want of jurisdiction (box 6/folder 6). Letters to and from Gamble from the years before and during the Civil War illuminate the issue of slavery and emancipation in a border state. A copy of a letter from Gamble in 1861 states his view of abolitionists (box 9/folder 13). A copy of an address at an 1862 meeting of loyal states in support of President Lincoln and emancipation bears a notation that Governor Gamble refused to sign it as governor of Missouri (box 10/folder 3). The original draft and copy of Gamble’s 1863 message before a party convention concerns emancipation for the state of Missouri (box 10/folder 7). Critical papers and letters between Gamble and President Abraham Lincoln cover such issues as: raising and paying for a state militia (box 9/folder 3); the situation in Missouri at the beginning of the Civil War (box 9/folder 8); and disagreements between Gamble and Union generals over who should be in control of the state militia (box 10). Collection includes several letters signed by President Lincoln (box 9/folder 12, box 10/folder 9). The collection includes official papers with government seals from 1824 when Gamble was appointed secretary of state of Missouri (box 2/folder 2), and from 1849 on a certificate admitting Gamble as an attorney and counselor of the U.S. Supreme Court (box 8/folder 5). Miscellaneous letters consist of one against gambling and playing roulette from “The Friends of Morality” (box 4/folder 6); plans for a 2nd Presbyterian Church on 5th Street, including drawings of the church interior (box 7/folder 1); and a letter soliciting donations to establish Linden Wood Female College (box 8/folder 9). Other letters and journal entries discuss treatments of diseases, e.g., cholera and neuralgia (box 8/folder 5). Receipts and account books show costs of clothing, household items, food, building materials and bills of sale for slaves to and from Gamble (box 2/folder 6; box 3/folder 7; box 5/folder 1, 5; box 7/folder 5; box 8/folders 4, 6, 11; box 9/folder 2). Letters written near the end of the Civil War, shortly before Gamble’s death, discuss the status of the provisional government (box 10/folder 7).