Posted on 11/21/2015 11:35:55 AM PST by Homer_J_Simpson
Before when free-soil men invoked the right of revolution in defense of their political rights, proslavery men condemned them for defying the legitimate government. But proslavery men feared the loss of their right to own slaves as much as free soilers feared the loss of the right to exclude slavery.
At Hickory Point, [Kansas] a squabble over land claims ignited these political quarrels. A settler named Franklin M. Coleman had been squatting on land abandoned by some Hoosiers, who subsequently sold the claim to Jacob Branson, another Hoosier. In late 1854, when Branson informed Coleman of his legal claim and attempted to move into Coleman’s house, Coleman held him off with a gun. A group of arbitrators later awarded part of the claim to Branson, but the boundaries between his land and Coleman’s were not determined. Branson invited in other men, including a young Ohioan named Charles W. Dow. Branson belonged to the free-state militia, a connection he used to intimidate Coleman, although Branson later testified that there had been no problems between Dow and Coleman – until the day of Dow’s murder.
On the morning of November 21, 1855, Dow went to the blacksmith shop at Hickory Point to have a wagon skein and lynchpin mended. While there he argued with one of Coleman’s friends, but left unharmed. As he walked away, he passed Coleman on the road. Coleman snapped a cap at him. When Dow turned around, he received a charge of buckshot in the chest and died immediately. His body lay in the road until Branson recovered it four hours later. Coleman claimed that Dow had threateningly raised the wagon skein (a two-foot piece of iron) as they argued over their claim dispute, forcing him to act in self-defense. Fearing that he could not get fair treatment at the free-state settlement of Hickory Point, Coleman and his family fled to Missouri.
Nicole Etcheson, “Bleeding Kansas: Contested Liberty in the Civil War Eraâ€
1855 - NYC regains Castle Clinton, to be used for immigration
Immigration was a state issue in 1855. I believe the supreme court ruled it a federal issue in 1875, but congress passed no laws or few laws for many years.
Castle Clinton had an interesting history.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Clinton
In the first half of the 19th century, most immigrants arriving in New York City landed at docks on the east side of the tip of Manhattan, around South Street. On August 1, 1855, Castle Clinton became the Emigrant Landing Depot, functioning as the New York State immigrant processing facility (the nation’s first such entity). It was operated by the state until April 18, 1890,[4] when the Federal Government took over control of immigration processing, which subsequently opened the larger and more isolated Ellis Island facility for that purpose on January 2, 1892. Most of Castle Clinton’s immigrant passenger records were destroyed in a fire that consumed the first structures on Ellis Island on 15 June 1897,[5] but it is generally accepted that over 8 million immigrants (and perhaps as many as 12 million) were processed during its operation. Called Kesselgarten by Yiddish-speaking Eastern European Jews, a “Kesselgarten” became a generic term for any situation that was noisy, confusing or chaotic, or where a “babel” of languages were spoken (a reference to the multitude of languages heard spoken by the immigrants from many countries at the site). Prominent persons that were associated with the administration of the immigrant station included Gulian Crommelin Verplanck, Friedrich Kapp, and John Alexander Kennedy.
The things I’ve learned about several branches of my family tree from both the Kansas and Missouri sides of the border have caused me to study the period of bleeding Kansas a bit over the last few years.
But I’m grateful for this project, as it will, I have no doubt, cause me to dig a lot deeper.
I was born in Nebraska, but my father’s side of the family were from Iowa, where I’ve spent a large proportion of my life.
In my studies of the conflict in Kansas I learned that Iowa was the primary entry point for anti-slavery immigrants.
Of particular interest to me has been Sidney, Iowa, which was a primary jumping off point into Kansas. Later in the decade John Brown traveled through there repeatedly.
I have a number of forebears buried in the cemetery at Sidney, including Jesse Hiatt, a War of 1812 veteran, and Sarah Estes, the daughter of Joel Estes, the discoverer and first settler of Estes Park, Colorado.
The Estes family were from the Missouri side of the line, having come there from Kentucky at the time of the Louisiana Purchase, and before that having come out of Tidewater Virginia with Daniel Boone before and during the Revolution.
They were a slaveholding family. Apparently Joel Estes either freed or sold the last of their slaves in Missouri just before the Emancipation Proclamation. Depends on whose story you believe.
My Chandler forebears were the Abolitionist family that ended up in Fort Scott.
Anyhow, the above is why I take a great deal of personal interest in this particular period of history.
God bless you and this project.
It should be fun. WWII was quite a ride. I’ll take that as an opt in. Hokay?
Please count me in! I love the stuff you post and share it often with my homeschoolers. Thanks so much!
1855 - The Devil’s Footprints mysteriously appear in southern Devon.
It was in interesting year. There were reports that church attendance increased.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil%27s_Footprints
http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/england/devon/other-mysteries/the-devils-footprints.html
The mysterious footprints, which appeared overnight in heavy snowfall in Southern Devon in 1855, have never been adequately explained. According to contemporary reports, they stretched for over a hundred miles, and went through solid walls and haystacks, appearing on the other side as though there was no barrier. The extent of the footprints may have been exaggerated at the time, and they may have been the result of freak atmospheric conditions. But in truth the ‘footprints’, if that is what they were, still remain a complete mystery.
On the night of the 8th of February 1855, heavy snowfall blanketed the countryside and small villages of Southern Devon. The last snow is thought to have fallen around midnight, and between this time and around 6.00am the following morning, something (or some things) left a myriad of tracks in the snow, stretching for a hundred miles or more, from the River Exe, to Totnes on the River Dart.
The early risers were the first to find them, strange hoof-shaped prints in straight lines, passing over rooftops, through walls and covering huge areas of land. A set of the prints were even supposed to have bridged a two mile span of the river Exe, continuing on the other side as if the creature had walked over the water.
Thank you very much. That is nice of you to say. I look forward to learning from your special insights and inside knowledge, so to speak.
Lot of adds since I last updated the group. If you receive this you are on the list as a charter member. Most were explicit but a couple I inferred “add me.”
Well, I appreciate that. But truthfully, my knowledge of it is rather thin.
About the only thing I got directly from family is that the Chandler farm at Fort Scott was an occasional stopping off place for John Brown.
Both parents, Ezra Chandler and his wife, along with a couple of other adult members of the family, died at Fort Scott in 1857. They were all relatively young, so I’m guessing they died in a cholera outbreak, which was fairly common on the frontier during that period.
My great-great grandfather Abner was a young teen when they died. The family scattered. Some went to Nebraska. Some went on to Oregon. A couple went back east to Lake County, Illinois, including Abner, who joined the Union Army at sixteen, serving throughout the war.
Abner fought in many battles, and was wounded in the drive on Atlanta, but recovered enough to fight in the horrific battles at Franklin and Nashville, Tennessee, which were truly the last gasp of the Confederacy.
One of his brothers was a POW at Andersonville. Somehow he managed to escape, and survive.
1855 - US adventurer William Walker conquers Nicaragua, reestablishes slavery
Another individual very much in the news at the time and a part of the major issue. conquered Nicaragua and canceled their antislavery laws. Defeated by Costa Rica.
http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist1/walker.html
1855 - The Portland Rum Riot occurs in Portland, Maine.
1830 highest per capita consumption of alcohol. lots of reformation besides slavery. I think immigrants were involved in the riots..................
https://www.mainehistory.org/rum-riot-reform/1820-1865/content.html
Current estimations show that per capita consumption of alcohol in America reached its peak in 1830. Its abuse led to violence, spousal and child abuse, loss of work, and sometimes, a night in jail. Drunkenness among children was not uncommon, either
By mid-century, Portland’s Neal Dow (1804-1897) changed the tactics of the battle against alcohol by adopting a legislative approach. Rather than changing people’s attitudes, Dow’s new reformers would change laws. Rather than preaching moderation, they branded all drinkers as rum dealers. Indeed, Dow left the moderates behind, including wine drinker Governor William King, who founded the first statewide temperance association. In 1851 Dow guided his Maine Law through the legislature and Maine became the first “dry” state. Neighboring states, including Massachusetts, took the law as a model and passed similar anti-liquor reforms. The nation’s eastern-most state seemed to be living up to its motto, “Dirigo” (I lead) and, on paper at least, it stayed dry through National Prohibition. Celebrated as the Napoleon of Temperance, Dow promoted his approach nationally and internationally. In spite of endless adjustments, however, the Maine Law never succeeded in destroying the liquor traffic or public thirst. Dow’s own reputation was severely threatened in 1855 when he ordered the militia to fire on civilians as they descended upon Portland’s City Hall, looking for a stash of liquor they had heard was kept there. One man was killed by Dow’s forces. Portland’s Rum Riot demonstrated the passionate, sometimes irrational, zeal of both factions.
Maine’s immigrant communities were also noticeably absent from the Maine Law ranks. Irish-Americans, whose younger men tended to embrace the stereotype of public drinking, often seemingly to spite Yankees such as Dow, were now given the brunt of the blame for outbreaks of violence. Portland had a remarkable number of riots in the 1830s, 40s, and 50s, often related to alcohol.
In my own experience of family research is that decisions to free the slaves were a direct correlation of the straight line distance from the advancing Union Army.
Stories from the little ladies usually go like this: Great grandmother decided to return to the plantation, but freed all of the slaves before she started the journey. The slaves begged her to take them with her, but she explained that the situation made that impossible. TRANSLATION: The Union Army had arrived, freed the slaves and great grandmother loaded up a wagon and got out of town as fast as she could go.
1855 - Bessemer steelmaking process patented
War is coming, this is important. Steel for bridges, railroad, skyscrapers, military
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bessemer_process
Sir Henry Bessemer described the origin of his invention in his autobiography written in 1890. During the outbreak of the Crimean War, many English industrialists and inventors became interested in military technology. According to Bessemer, his invention was inspired by a conversation with Napoleon III in 1854 pertaining to the steel required for better artillery. Bessemer claimed that it “was the spark which kindled one of the greatest revolutions that the present century had to record, for during my solitary ride in a cab that night from Vincennes to Paris, I made up my mind to try what I could to improve the quality of iron in the manufacture of guns.”[5] At the time steel was used to make only small items like cutlery and tools, but was too expensive for cannons. Starting in January 1855 he began working on a way to produce steel in the massive quantities required for artillery and by October he filed his first patent related to the Bessemer process. He patented the method a year later in 1856.[5]
1855 - Indian Wars: In Nebraska, 700 soldiers under American General William S. Harney avenge the Grattan Massacre by attacking a Sioux village, killing 100 men, women, and children.
It is interesting to see all the background prior to the civil war. This is the first major clash with the Sioux? It is a response to this incident which could have been avoided http://www.legendsofamerica.com/wy-grattanfight.html
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/ne-indianbattles.html
Blue Water/Ash Hollow Battle (1855) - Called the Blue Water Battle or the Ash Hollow Battle, it was the first major clash between U.S. soldiers and the Sioux Indians. In 1855, to punish the Sioux for their depredations following the Grattan Fight near Fort Laramie, Wyoming the previous year, the Army sent out Colonel William S. Harney and an expedition of 600 men from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas Sioux village of Little Thunder in Blue Water Creek Valley, just above the creek’s junction with the North Platte River. By a circuitous route dragoons entered the valley and advanced downstream, while Harney and a force of infantrymen marched up the valley from the Platte. Attacked from two directions on September 3, 1855, the Indians scattered, but not before the troops killed 80 warriors, wounded five, and captured 70 women and children. Four soldiers met death and seven suffered wounds.
The rest of the Sioux and Northern Cheyenne in the vicinity managed to avoid the troops. The latter moved northwestward to Fort Laramie, Wyoming and marched over the Fort Laramie-Fort Pierre Road through the heart of Sioux country to Fort Pierre, South Dakota on the Missouri River. There, they joined part of the expedition that had come up the Missouri River and spent the winter of 1855-56. For almost a decade most of the Sioux gave no further serious trouble. The site is in privately owned, but the 40-acre Ash Hollow State Historical Park overlooks the battlefield. It is located in Garden County on U.S. Highway 26, 1 ½ miles west of Lewellen, Nebraska.
Count me in too Homer. I think I was getting withdrawal symptoms from the WWII history lessons
1855 - 1st train crosses Miss River’s 1st bridge, Rock Is Ill-Davenport Ia
First time Lincoln and Jefferson Davis met as opponents? The railroad made for east/west transportation and reduced the South’s river transportation/power?
http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2004/summer/bridge.html
The construction and completion of this bridge came to symbolize the larger issues affecting transcontinental commerce and sectional interests. Backers of a railroad across the country were divided between those who favored a northern route and those who advocated a southern one. The bridge also pitted steamboats against the railroads, and these disagreements were decided in the federal courts.
Two notable players in the controversy surrounding the bridge were men who would later face each other on a grander stage: Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis. Lincoln was the attorney for the bridge company in litigation brought by the steamship interests. Davis, as secretary of war, took an active role in the contest between northern and southern routes for a transcontinental railroad.
During the 1850s, a struggle was going on in the Mississippi Valley between those who favored north-south traffic and those who advocated east-west travel across the continent. It was a contest between the old lines of migration and the new; between the South and the East; between the slow and cheap transportation by water and the rapid, but more expensive, transportation by rail. It arrayed St. Louis and Chicago against each other in an intense rivalry. The people of the city of St. Louis and other river interests supported the principle of free navigation for boats, whereas the citizens of Chicago and the railroad interests stood by the right of railroad companies to build a bridge.
Southerners were opposed to any northern bridge because it would allow the north to settle the west in greater numbers. Davis made no objection at this time because he felt that the progress of the southern route seemed assured. In the spring of 1854, however, as the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act heated up sectional rivalries, Davis realized that his southern transcontinental railroad might be delayed. His interest in the Rock Island site grew.
Sign me up. Good job on WWII.
I am in
I grew up in Eastern Kansas, not from a place called Osawatomie, where my crystal ball tells me something important may happen.
Signed up, in, in.
1855 - US Court of Claims forms for cases against government
What claims were the Mexican American vets making against the govt?
Now the Mexican American war is another rabbit hold to investigate regarding the civil war. Lincoln was agin it. lots of north south issues in it. that war caused lot of discussion on slavery.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Court_of_Claims
The Court of Claims was established in 1855 to adjudicate certain claims brought against the United States government by veterans of the Mexican–American War. Initially, the court met at Willard’s Hotel, from May to June of 1855, thereafter moving to the U.S. Capitol.[1] There, the court met in the Supreme Court’s chamber in the basement of the Capitol, until it was given its space to use.[1]
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