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
At a meeting of the Sons of Liberty in September, 1864, a plan was
reported, much to the relief of those who had a horror of conscription;
it was arranged that such of the members as might be drafted, should
report within three days to the Grand Senior of the Temple, and they
would be supplied with means to defray their expenses to the southern
part of the State, where they would remain till their services should
be required, and that they would find friends there, strong enough in
numbers, to defy the officers of the law. Such persons were to form
military organizations, and to be drilled and disciplined by rebel
officers sent thither for that express purpose. The "Sons" of Chicago
expressed their extreme regret at the very open and defiant manner of
their brethren in the southern part of the State, and believed that it
would be prejudicial to the prosperity of the Order. Our readers have
not forgotten the Coles county tragedy, the murderers and their victims.
There is not a particle of doubt that those murders were premeditated,
and first the subject of discussion in the temples of the Sons of
Liberty. The assault was made without provocation, and the thirst
for the blood of Union men was the motive for the deed. We have never
advocated or countenanced mob law, but if there was ever a time in the
history of our government in which it was justifiable, it was in the
cases of the Coles county murderers. The times seemed, perhaps, to have
demanded a vigilance committee of citizens, who would administer justice
fast enough to suit the emergency of the cases upon which they might be
called to adjudicate, and having "cleaned out" the murderous scoundrels
in that locality, they might have found a demand for their services
in Chicago. But it is better that the people controlled their just
indignation and left it to time, to punish the infamous wretches who
turned their arms and their all against the country, to whom they
are indebted for all the blessings which they proved themselves to be
utterly incapable of appreciating. It was the boast of the "Sons" that
their numbers embraced many of the officers of our armies, and the names
of several were mentioned, who had sworn that they would never fire or
order their commands to fire upon "our Southern brethren," and it was
added that such officers could serve the cause of this order better in
the field, than in any other manner. As time passed on, the plans of
the villains belonging to the Chicago Temple, or the plans of the
order throughout the State for the attack upon Camp Douglas became more
complete in their details. The policy of obtaining positions for members
upon all the railroads and in telegraph offices, was very popular with
the order, and it was confidently stated, that upon the release of
the prisoners the leaders would at once take full possession of the
railroads and telegraph offices. It was arranged that the attack upon
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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