Page "Abraham Lincoln" Paragraph 53

In late August 1861, General John C. Frémont, the 1856 Republican presidential nominee, issued, without consulting Washington, a proclamation of martial law in Missouri.

He declared that any citizen found bearing arms could be court-martialed and shot, and that slaves of persons aiding the rebellion would be freed.

Frémont was already under a cloud with charges of negligence in his command of the Department of the West compounded with allegations of fraud and corruption.

Lincoln overruled Frémont's proclamation.

Lincoln believed that Fremont's emancipation was political ; neither militarily necessary nor legal.

Union enlistments from Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri increased by over 40, 000 troops.