Group protests Civil War Museum exhibit (because of guns)

HARRISBURG - Dozens of protesters took a stand against the National Civil War Museum Wednesday, saying that an exhibit currently on display and sponsored by the NRA sends the wrong message to young people.

â€œThis public institution is highlighting guns when we in fact are trying to get them off the streets and limit their use,â€ Homer Floyd, a demonstrator, said.

Much of the anger is directed at the display of a pistol used by William Quantrill, a Confederate fighter who captured runaway slaves in Kansas and Missouri. In one such raid during the Civil War, Quantrill and his group killed more than 180 civilians.

â€œI don't believe America stands for showcasing past indiscretions that have historically, to our knowledge, been overcome,â€ Karl Singleton, a demonstrator, said.

The 1864 raid is the one where there was generalized destruction. It was very much publicized in all the newspapers because it was so out of the norm and unusual.

During the Gettysburg campaign, Confederate troops restrained themselves from destroying non-government property. By the Rebels' next raid into the North, however, the policy had changed.

On July 30, 1864, Brigadier General John McCausland and 2,800 Confederate cavalrymen entered Chambersburg and demanded $100,000 in gold or $500,000 in greenbacks. The residents of Chambersburg failed to raise the ransom, and McCausland ordered his men to burn the town. Flames destroyed more than 500 structures leaving more than 2,000 homeless. One resident died of smoke inhalation. Damage was estimated at more than $1.6 million. To make matters worse, many inebriated Confederate soldiers looted homes and abused civilians. Mobs of angry townspeople looking for retribution killed several Rebels.

Good Samaritans in the Rebel ranks helped citizens escape and save their valuables; a Confederate captain even ordered his company to douse the flames. One officer, Colonel William Peters, staunchly refused to take part in the burning. McCausland had him placed under arrest.

Chambersburg was the only Northern town the Confederates destroyed. The attack inspired a national aid campaign and spurred the Union Army to the aggressive approach that finally won the war.

central_va: "Confederate troops restrained themselves from destroying non-government property."

Obviously, a rather loose interpretation of the term "non-government property":

"...on October 10, 1862, Confederate Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, with 1,800 cavalrymen, raided Chambersburg, destroying $250,000 of railroad property and taking 500 guns, hundreds of horses, and at least 'eight young colored men and boys.' "
"...the 1863 Gettysburg Campaign, a Virginia cavalry brigade under Brig. Gen. Albert G. Jenkins occupied [Chambersburg], and burned several warehouses and Cumberland Valley Railroad structures and the bridge at Scotland."
On August 21, 1863, "Between three and four hundred riders arrived at the summit of Mount Oread, then descended on Lawrence [Kansas] in a fury.
Over four hours, the raiders pillaged and set fire to the town and killed most of its male population.
Quantrill's men burned to the ground a quarter of the buildings in Lawrence, including all but two businesses.
They looted most of the banks and stores and killed between 185 and 200 men and boys...
"Quantrill's raiders entered Lawrence with lists of men to be killed and buildings to be burned. "
In July 1864 "...Chambersburg was invaded for a third time, as cavalry, dispatched from the Shenandoah Valley by Jubal Early, arrived.[5]
On July 30, 1864, a large portion of the town was burned down by Brig. Gen. John McCausland for failing to provide a ransom of $500,000 in U.S. currency, or $100,000 in gold."

So, I'm certain you know the old saying:

One occurrence of an event is an anomaly.
Two occurrences of the event is a coincidence.
Three times is a pattern.

Confederates established a pattern of destructive behavior when in Union states, long before Sherman's march to the sea in December 1864.

Captain Quantrill and Partisan Ranger Captain William Anderson were a huge part of the Confederate resistance in Missouri. Although Missouri never officially seceded, our governor, Claiborne Fox Jackson wished to remain neutral. When Lincoln called for the mobilization of 50,000 Missourians, Governor Jackson refused citing the mobilization was unconstitutional. After the refusal, Federal General Nathanial Lyon launched an attack on the Capitol Jefferson City. When the Governor and much of the legislature fled into exile, the federals imposed a new, unelected governor to run Missouri. The first year of the war Missouri had the most engagements of all states. And the war split the state in the middle with atrocities staged by the federals against civilians and soldiers alike. Captain William “Bloody Bill” Anderson became who he was because his brother was murdered in cold blood by federal troops. The combination of Anderson and Quantrill was in direct retaliation for the federal atrocities including General Order 11. if those protesters knew the real history behind those historic firearms they might have a change of heart.

o_zarkman44: "When Lincoln called for the mobilization of 50,000 Missourians, Governor Jackson refused citing the mobilization was unconstitutional.
After the refusal, Federal General Nathanial Lyon launched an attack on the Capitol Jefferson City."

Important facts to remember about border-state Missouri in the Civil War:

In 1860, only slave-state Delaware had a lower percentage of slaves and slave owning families than Missouri.
In 1860, slaves had declined to 10% of the population, and only 11% of Missouri families owned slaves.
As a result, Missouri was strongly anti-slavery and pro-Union.
In the election of November 1860, 80% of Missourians voted for Unionist parties, only 20% for the secessionist Southern Democrats.
On February 18, 1861, at Missouri Governor Jackson's request, voters further elected a Constitutional Convention to consider the issue of secession.
On March 19, 1861, the Missouri convention voted 98-1 against secession.
After Civil War started at Fort Sumter (April 12), Missouri Governor Jackson not only refused to support Lincoln's request for troops, but also requested military aid from the Confederacy.
After May 6, 1861, when the Confederacy formally declared war on the United States, then by definition of the US Constitution, Jackson's aid and comfort to the Confederacy was treason.
Jackson was forced to flee the capital, Jefferson City.
On July 22, 1861, the Missouri Constitution Convention (not the Union Army) declared the governor's office vacant, and appointed a new governor.
Jackson's rump Assembly in Neosho, which formally declared secession in October 1861, consisted of about 25% of the original state assembly in Jefferson City.
During the Civil War, Missouri supplied troops to both Union and Confederacy, by a ratio of nearly three-to-one Union to Confederates.

1860 Missouri's high-slave (in red) vs. over 90% white (in green) populations:

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.