Today in History:

805 Series I Volume XLI-III Serial 85 - Price's Missouri Expedition Part III

Page 805 Chapter LIII. CORRESPONDENCE, ETC.- UNION.

pliance with his duty as a citizen and department commander, and with the wishes of all true citizens, and in aid of the law, the general commanding orders as follows, viz:

I. Those, and only those, who have the qualifications, and how take the oath prescribed by the laws of the State, copies of which are hereto annexed, shall vote.

From the terms it is manifest that it was the intention of the Missouri State Convention that no person should vote who, since the 17th day of December, 1861, as willfully taken up arms or levied war against the United States or against the provisional government of the State of Missouri. This excludes from the right of voting all who, since that date, have been in the rebel army or navy anywhere, and all who, since that date, have been anywhere engaged in guerrilla marauding or bushwhacking. If, therefore, any such person offers to vote his vote may be challenged, and he shall be immediately arrested. And any judge of election shall be arrested and punished who permits the name of any such person to be recorded in the pool book or his vote to be received, where such judge has personal knowledge of his true character, or the same is shown to him by lawful evidence before the vote is received.

Voting or attempting to vote in contravention of law or orders, is declared a military offense, subjecting the offender to arrest, trial, and punishment of convicted.

II. No one who has borne arms against the Government of the United States, or voluntarily given aid and comfort to its enemies during the present rebellion, shall act as judge or clerk at election, nor shall any county judge knowingly appoint any such person to act as judge at election. Violation of this will be promptly noticed and the offenders brought to trial by the local miliary authorities.

III. Outrages upon the freedom of election by violence or intimation; attempting to hinder legal or to procure or encourage illegal voting; interfering with the legal challenge of voters; acting as officers of election in contravention of law or orders; willful neglect to perform their duties under the laws and these orders by officers of election, and especially taking the voter's or officers oath falsely; and all other acts and words interfering with the purity and freedom of elections, are crimes against the liberties of the people, and are declared military offenses, and will be rigorously punished.

IV. The laws of the State provide that those of its citizens who are in the army shall not thereby lose the privilege of voting, provided the voting is done in the manner prescribed. The commanding general therefore directs that on the day of election every practicable facility be afforded for taking, in camp or in the field, the vote of citizens of Missouri, who may then be in any company of Missouri volunteers or militia, in the service of the United States or of the State.

A copy of the ordinance of this State, providing for elections under the supervision of the commanding officers of companies, is hereto subjoined for the guidance of all concerned. Such commanding officers will not on any account neglect to make arrangements for and to hold such elections where the condition of their commands will admit of their being held without detriment to the service.

The commanding general deems it better that all citizens of Missouri in the military service in this State should vote in their companies, as authorized by said ordinance, but he does not consider that the uniform of the army should be a badge of exclusion of any soldier from voting at the polls where he as a citizen would be entitled to vote, and there-


Page 805 Chapter LIII. CORRESPONDENCE, ETC.- UNION.