The Great North-Western Conspiracy in All Its Startling DetailsAyer, I. Winslow
History
The Great North-Western Conspiracy in All Its Startling Details
Ayer, I. Winslow
Knights of the Golden Circle; Northwestern Conspiracy, 1864
the spring, so the Copperhead _Times_ seems to have cast its own this
season; but though it may appear in more pleasing garb with its present
covering, let none forget that it is the same old Copperhead still.
And the time will come when some enterprising showman will obtain and
exhibit the last issue of that delectable sheet as the acme of treason
and corruption during the war, and as an illustration of what villainy
the mind of man may conceive, when he once turns against his country.
About the period of which we write, say a month prior to the Convention,
informal meetings of the Sons of Liberty were frequent, and large
numbers of the members often went out of the city on excursions,
nominally for pleasure, but really for practice with fire arms. The most
active preparations were made by the Democrats, resident of Chicago, to
be able to accommodate their brethren from abroad, who would attend the
Convention, or who would pay them an earlier visit; for the time of the
uprising, it will be remembered, had been fixed for about the middle of
August. The time assigned arrived, but "all was quiet on the Potomac,"
and along the placid and fragrant Chicago. It was a complete fizzle, but
not from want of harmonious action on the part of the Copperheads of the
Northwest, but to the chagrin of the Rebel government, Gen. Price failed
to make his appearance in the vicinity of St. Louis, or Buckner about
Louisville. The disappointment and vexation of the Sons of Liberty was
great, and it found expression in the peculiar style of oratory and
diction, which Judge Morris had introduced into the Temple. The failure
of the rebels to concur, as had been arranged, was for a time quite
inexplicable and unsatisfactory to the most ultra secesh of the Temple.
It was not easy to communicate with Price and Buckner, and much mystery
and doubt hung over the failure. The leaders were in doubt as to the
wisdom of rising at the Convention, some being in favor and others
adverse to it. It was evident the leaders were not a little embarrassed,
but they finally agreed that a large force of "bone and muscle" should
be on hand in Chicago at the Convention, and if it was found that the
War Democrats should be in the ascendency, and the Peace wing could get
nothing--either platform or candidate--the uprising should occur at that
time, but so confident were the Peace men that they should be able to
have the control of the Convention, that Judge Morris and Brig.-Gen.
Walsh, and other leaders, announced to the members of the _Illini_ their
entire belief that there would be no doubt of the success of the Peace
wing, in that Convention, and if so, no insurrectionary movement would
be expedient; but if the uprising did not occur then, it surely would
at the time of the Presidential election, and in the time which would
elapse between the Convention and the election, the most active and
earnest efforts would be made to strengthen the numbers of the Temples
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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