But such a statement of the grand result of this campaign gives no adequate idea of the general condition of the State at that time. There was great confusion throughout all our borders. Confederate troops, coming up from Arkansas, invaded at different points our sacred, sovereign soil. They came to strengthen the hands of the disloyal. Federal soldiers, in detached bands, were endeavoring to defend the loyal. There was a skirmish here, a conflict there. State Guards and Home Guards were in frequent collision. Guerrillas, riding swiftly, suddenly struck unsuspecting neighborhoods and left behind them dying men and flaming dwellings. Bushwhackers, hiding in thickets or behind stone walls, coolly shot down many of the best men of our State. Small towns often changed hands, one week controlled by Confederates, the next by Federals. Halleck, as well as he could, kept all his subordinate officers, in these harried and disordered districts, under his eye. His orders addressed to them flew thick and fast. These military movements, that we have briefly noted, were of vast importance to us. Our destiny hung upon the turn that they took. Hence they gave us much anxious thought. But while they were transpiring, we were stirred up by startling and significant events within our gates. Foremost among the suggestive incidents that agitated our city was the hand that Halleck took in the negro question. But unlike his predecessor in command, he kept, in what he did, strictly within the limits of his authority as a military officer. Sixteen fugitive slaves had been thrown into the county jail. They were shut up there, not because they had committed crime, but because that prison was a convenient place to keep securely such lively property,—property that did some thinking, had some ardent desires for freedom, and was blessed with legs. In the latter part of December, 1861, these slaves were advertised for sale, under State laws. The general, satisfied that they were the property of rebels, ordered the provost marshal to take them from jail, turn them over to the chief quartermaster, who was instructed to put them to work for the Federal government.[86] The general, however, declared that by his order he did not contravene any civil enactment, by which they might be legally turned over to their masters. Nevertheless, to their great joy, his move on their behalf made them virtually free. They became the servants of Uncle Sam, a kind and gracious master that fully recognized their manhood. This unexpected act of our general set wagging the tongues of both secessionists and Unionists, the former sharply condemning, the latter warmly applauding. There was very bitter war, waged by tongues on the streets, in the marts of trade and in the parlor, as well as with Minie balls, solid shot and shell in the field.