MARCH 2006
Charleston Riot -
March 28, 1864
by Frank Crawford
"Butternut britches and hickory
poles,
Democrats, Democrats, damn their souls."
This chant circled the Coles County Court House in Charleston, as opponents of
the Democratic Party in east-central Illinois gathered to harass Congressman
John Eden who was scheduled to speak that March 28th, 1864, at the opening of
Judge Charles Constable's spring session of the opening of the Fourth Judicial
Circuit Court. Judge Constable was widely known in the area as a leader of the
Peace Democrats, who were also widely known as Copperheads, butternuts or
Knights of the Golden Circle. These Copperheads wanted an end to war, which
they blamed on Republicans and their supposed theories of racial equality. To
assure that the judge and the congressman would not be interrupted by
Republicans in the crowd during their presentations, Copperheads from nearby
Cumberland and Edgar Counties had traveled to Charleston with their pistols and
squirrel rifles tucked under their blankets or hidden under straw in the back of
their wagons. They were a determined lot.
Also in the crowd that crisp spring afternoon, were members of the 54th Illinois Volunteers, veterans of two years of campaigning in what was well known as "The Kentucky Brigade." These men had served in Tennessee and Mississippi as well as taking an active part in Steele's expedition against Little Rock, Arkansas. These men were in a sour mood. This was the last day of their furloughs; the men had reenlisted as veterans in January of 1864. Many of the Coles County men had stopped in Charleston on their way to Mattoon, just twelve miles to the west. Those from Charleston were simply returning to duty. From Mattoon they were to be sent south once more. Many of the regiment had been captured by Nathan Bedford Forrest's Rebels. They were neither forgiving nor understanding of the feelings of the local copperheads. Many were simply reluctant to return to war.
Oliver Sallee, a private in
Company C of the 54th and a young lad from Charleston, was particularly annoyed
by the Copperheads. To him it just didn't seem right that these men could stand
up in public and advocate peace with the Rebels while he and his comrades were
going off to fight to restore the Union. Finally, Oliver could no longer hold
his emotions in check and he grabbed a young civilian named David Nelson Wells
by the shoulder and swung him around to face him. "Are there any Copperheads in
this county?" Sallee asked defiantly.
Nelson Wells, of Paris, Illinois, the county seat of Edgar County, thirty miles
to the east of Charleston, was just waiting for an opportunity to start trouble
and Sallee's hand on his shoulder and his belligerent attitude was just what was
needed to touch him off. "Yes, God Damn you! I am one!" Wells replied while
reaching inside his coat for a pistol. All in the same motion the twenty-three
year old citizen fired at the nineteen year old soldier. His bullet missed but
someone else's didn't. Sallee fell on the court house lawn. Wells ran, but the
dying Sallee fired his rifle and his aim was true. The young Copperhead ran but
a few more steps and he fell dead, near the Bunell House Hotel at the northwest
corner of the city square.
Bullets flew fast a furious. They flew in all directions. The Copperheads in the crowd fired at the soldiers who made excellent targets in their blue uniforms while the soldiers tried to pick off the armed civilians who were mixed with the hundreds of innocent residents of the county who had simply come to listen to the political oration. In a matter of only a few minutes well over 100 shots had been fired into the crowd and nine men were dead, six soldiers, two known Copperheads and one bystander. War had come to Charleston, Illinois.
Inside the court house, Sheriff
John O'Hair looked out of the window at the riot and then dashed outside by the
west door where he began to fire at the soldiers in uniform. Although a known
member of the organization known at The Knights of the Golden Circle, O'Hair
claimed later that he was simply firing at the uniformed soldiers "in order to
squelch the gunplay." Meanwhile, Major Shubal York, of Paris, surgeon of the
54th Regiment, remained within the court house, on the second floor where he had
been attending a local trial. He walked to a western window to observe the
happenings and, while looking out the window, someone walked up behind him and
shot him at a very close range through the back of his head. Although it was
never determined who the shooter was, it was thought by many that this killing
was in retaliation for the fact that Major York's son, John W. York, a soldier
in the 66th Illinois, Company E, also from Paris, had been involved in the
killing of an Edgar County Copperhead a few weeks previous in Paris. Private
John W. York would be killed in combat at Rome Cross Roads, Georgia on May 22,
1864.
By now, the Copperheads were beginning to get the best of the poorly organized
and poorly armed soldiers. Many of the men, returning to their homes on
furlough had not seen a need to bring their arms with them. They were, for all
practical purposes, mostly unarmed. Those men that had brought their weapons
home had stacked their arms at the railroad station several blocks away. The
armed civilians formed their version of a line of battle along the south side of
the western wall of the court house. Here they methodically fired, reloaded and
fired again their weapons at the soldiers. In minutes casualties had reached
the twenty mark.
The months of discipline and the better weapons, no matter that they were few in number, began to turn the tide in favor of the soldiers of the 54th. Slowly, but still rather organized, the Copperheads began to withdraw towards their wagons, taking what hostages were available as they went. One of the hostages, a John Cooper, broke free and began running towards the Jenkins's Dry Goods Store. A Copperhead volley cut him down in the street and one of the bullets continued on to kill young John Jenkins who was standing in the doorway of his older brother's store.
The Copperheads continued their movement to the east, away from the court house square. Along the way they took yet another prisoner, -- Private Levi Freesner, also of Company C, 54th Illinois. Levi, also a Charleston lad, had heard the firing at the court house square but had no idea what was transpiring. He was merely on his way, in uniform, to catch the next train west to Mattoon to join his regiment.
"Let's kill him!" said one of the wild-eyes civilians and another grabbed Freesner and shoved him roughly against the wall of a building. More armed civilians joined them and Levi was certain he was about to die, but he had no idea why. Just as his captors were about to fire, Sheriff O'Hair pressed his way through the crowd.
"Let him go!" the sheriff shouted.
"But he can identify us" said one Copperhead, "We've got to kill him."
"No, you've got to get out of here before more troops show up." The sheriff argued.
"We won't kill him now" said a
burly Copperhead, "but we'll take him along as insurance."
Levi Freesner spent the next few hours traveling under guard with the
Copperheads and wondered just when they would kill him. Finally, at about one
O'clock the following morning, March 29th, he found himself at the Murphy home
about seven miles northeast of Charleston. He was released from his captivity
by Union soldiers later that day after the Copperheads disappeared into the
night, presumably continuing on to their individual homes in Edgar County.
Back in Charleston the townsfolk spent an anxious night wondering if peace had returned to their town or would the next day bring even more violence and perhaps even a raid by that "Devil" Nathan Bedford Forrest. The fact of this seemingly ludicrous concern is supported by a note from none other than General William T. Sherman, written on April 3rd. He remarked, "Don't give rise to such ridiculous nonsense as connecting Forrest's movements with a riot in Illinois."
The following day, March 29th, General Samuel P. Heintzelman, commander of the Northern Department, from his headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, had sent word of the riot to General Halleck in Washington, D.C. Heintzelman had received his information from General Julius White who was in the Charleston area. White had told Heintzelman that the 54th Regiment could handle the situation, but to make certain that order was restored, the 41st Illinois was sent to Charleston from Springfield and the 47th Indiana, returning from Indianapolis to the south by train, was detoured to the scene of the riot. It was only after the three regiments had arrived in Charleston that the civilians were convinced that a Rebel raid would not occur.
From April 1, 1864 to at least the 13th of June, well over 100 depositions were given to W. A. Whittemore and M. C. McLain, military or provost marshals, and George W. Teel, Clerk of the Circuit Court for Coles County. Many of these were to absolve someone from connection to the riotous situation but some were also given to connect certain people to the event. An example of the later is found in the deposition given by Enos Mullen on April 2, 1864.
"I was in Charleston on Monday, the 28th of March last. I was in the Grand Jury room at the time of the commencement of the riot. I went to the East window of the Court House up stairs. I saw John O'Hair, James O'Hair, Henderson O'Hair, B.J. Tolan, Elsbury Hanks, all with arms in their hands and shooting; they were shooting in a South Westerly direction to the South of the Court House. I then stepped into the Grand Jury room and looked at the South window to see who they were shooting at, and found it was the soldiers and anyone dressed in soldier clothing. I saw several other men in the crowd at the East gate and about Judge Edwards office shooting North, but do not now recollect who they were; saw John O'Hair have a gun in his hand and saw him shoot with the gun; saw a man at the East gate of the yard with a gun who would lay his gun on top of the post and take deliberate aim but could not see at whom he was aiming at, he seemed to be dodging up and down."
The other depositions are all
very similar to the above, either clearing someone from being accused of
participation or testifying that a certain individual had indeed been involved.
Six soldiers of the 54th Illinois lost their lives that crisp spring day in
Central Illinois. Besides Oliver Sallee, a Company C soldier, James Goodrich of
Charleston, also of C Company, John Neer and Alfred Swim of Casey, both of
Company G. were killed. Private William G. Hart, of the 62nd Illinois, home on
parole, was killed during the riot, also. The sixth soldier killed was Major -
Surgeon Shubal York, murdered inside the court-house and perhaps a result of
action other than the riot itself.
A listing of men that were wounded indicates four men from the 54th. Greenville M. Mitchell, of Charleston, Colonel and later Brevet Brigadier General was one. George Ross, Company C, another Charleston native, was another. Landford Noyes, Company I, a private from Arcola, Illinois was also wounded as was William Decker, a private in Company G. Young Decker, from Greenup, Illinois, later gave his life on the Field of Honor while in combat at Jones' Station, Arkansas on August 24th of the year.
Of the civilians arrested for their part in the altercation, twenty-seven in number, there were four Reardons, three Murpheys (the name of the people that owned the home where Levi Freesner was held captive) and two O'Hairs. The event must have been a family oriented affair. Other family names that might possibly be of interest among those arrested were men with the last names of Hanks and Johnson. President Abraham Lincoln had several relatives living in the Charleston area at this time and two family names closely associated with him are Hanks and Johnson.
Those men arrested were, after their speedy trial, taken to Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island near Wilmington, Delaware. There they remained incarcerated until a full report was sent to the War Department, Bureau of Military Justice, in Washington, D.C. This report, submitted by a Major A. A. Hosmer, was directed specifically to "To His Excellency A. Lincoln, President of the United States. This report was delivered July 26, 1864. Then on November 4, of that year, President Lincoln added his endorsement. "Let these prisoners be sent back to Coles County, Ill., those indicted be surrendered to the sheriff of said county, and the others be discharged. The following day, the 5th, the Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton's department, endorsed the release also. Legally the riot in Central Illinois was over and those convicted of any wrong doing had served their punishment.
