Part 6 of 7 The Fifth Column
In the grim winter of 18621863, Lincoln was heard to say, “The enemy behind us is more dangerous to the country than the enemy before us.” He was referring to subversive elements in the North as the Peace Democrats or Copperheads, and especially the fifth column of the Knights of the Golden Circle. They opposed the US invasion of the south and despised the Lincoln administration. The Habeas Corpus was suspended, over 300 newspapers had been shut down, and over 40,000 citizens had been imprisoned for any opposition to war. These northern Knights played a major role in what is referred to as the “Northwest Conspiracy.” The plan was to use great numbers of Knights in these states to provide a second front and foster a revolution. These were based across Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, and Kentucky. Their specific operations included: aiding US soldiers to desert, harboring deserters, discouraging enlistments, resisting the Union draft, circulating disloyal publications, providing military intelligence to the Confederacy, aiding the Confederates in recruiting behind enemy lines, furnishing the Confederacy with arms and implements of war, cooperating with the Confederate Army with raids and invasions, destroying US government property, destruction of private property, persecution of Union men, and to make secret assassination of important officers and officials.
One example of the KGC subversion involved one union regiment that had so many KGC men within its ranks it was ordered disbanded. The 109th Illinois Infantry was mustered into service in September 1862. The KGC in the ranks did their best to undermine moral. As a result, there were 237 desertions by the time Grant ordered it broken up in April 1863. Most of the officers were deemed unfit and sent home while the remaining enlisted men were assigned to other units.
The KGC was successful out west, especially in California. Through its multi-state network of spies, scouts, and raiders, the KGC weakened the federal government by sabotaging every action. Stolen horses and cattle were driven to Texas and turned over to the Confederate Army. Stagecoaches were robbed, gold shipments disappeared to Confederate destinations, riots, disturbances and the tying down of federal troops denied the US Army of needed men. The KGC used every means available to limit or to hinder the federal governments control in the west. Paranoia and hysteria primed public support for the KGC’s secret police and surveillance system. The panic was humiliating. As a result, Lincoln ordered all forts in the Southwest be abandoned and supplies and equipment that could not be carried off destroyed. The fifth column of the KGC had done its job not only in the west, but across the country.
References and endnotes available upon request.
To be continued.
Established in 1896, the SCV is dedicated to preserving the history and legacy of Confederate veterans. As the direct heir of the United Confederate Veterans, it is the oldest hereditary organization for male descendants of Confederate soldiers. Today, the SCV remains committed to ensuring the true history of the 1861-1865 period is preserved.