The Yankees Did Not Want Him (Part 1 of 5)

The air reeked with suspicion that day late in May, Rebel pickets warily eyeing the small troupe wielding a flag of truce and cautiously making its way toward them.  What could the Yanks possibly want?  Arms at the ready, the officer of the guard ordered them to halt and inquired their business.  The Union officer stepped forward to announce that they had been ordered to deliver their civilian prisoner to the pickets so that he might be handed over to Confederate authorities.  The pickets exchanged inquisitive glances.  What trickery was this?  Who might this civilian prisoner be?  Was the man a spy?  This was all so out of the ordinary.  The officer of the guard was unsure of the protocols to be followed.

The man claimed to be a former member of the United States House of Representatives who had recently gained national notoriety with his highly publicized stand on an individual’s right to free speech, even if it was as an anti-government agitator and his belief that said right was protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution.  It’s doubtful that any of the Rebel pickets standing that day outside of Tullahoma, Tennessee, recognized the man.  Some, maybe all, may not have even heard of him and his so-called stand on the first amendment, what with the war and everything.  For now, they reluctantly agreed to escort their new charge to Headquarters, Confederate Army of Tennessee, General Braxton Bragg commander, hoping that the general would know what to do with the man.  Whatever his transgressions, it was clear the Yankees did not want him.

Clement Vallandigham, 1863