Iowa Heritage Digital Collections
State Library of Iowa

16. Leonard Swett to Lincoln on reaction in Missouri to Gen. John Fremont's removal from command

Title

16. Leonard Swett to Lincoln on reaction in Missouri to Gen. John Fremont's removal from command

Description

Letter from Leonard Swett to Abraham Lincoln dismissing reports of significant opposition in Springfield, Missouri in response to the president's removal of John C. Fremont as Commander of the Department of the West. Fremont, a former western explorer ("the Pathfinder of the West") and Republican presidential candidate, was popular with his troops in Missouri, a pivotal neutral state during the Civil War. In July 1861 Confederate forces had won a victory at the Battle of Wilson's Creek near Springfield and posed a continuing threat in the area. Swett, a resident of Bloomington, Illinois, was a lawyer and longtime Lincoln political associate. November 8, 1861. Copy

Date

1861-11-08

Contributor

Becki Plunkett and Stephen Vincent

Rights

Copyright State Historical Society of Iowa. Information at http://www.iowahistory.org/libraries/services-and-fees/conditions-for-image-reproductions.html

Digital Reproduction Information

Original scanned at 600 dpi w/ sRGB color space.

Repository

State Historical Society of Iowa, Des Moines

Repository Collection

Special Collections: Samuel R. Curtis Papers

Digital item created

12/12/2008

Transcription

Nov 8 1861 To the President of the United States Washington Place no faith in reports of a mutinous spirit in the army at Springfield in consequence of the removal of General Fremont. There is no material dissatisfaction and no prospect of a battle. Scouts returned to camp on Monday night from thirty to forty miles & report no enemy. This city quiet. The subject is very little discussed and all parties acquiesce in the action of the government. Leonard Swett Indorsed S R C