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THE LOUIS A. WELTON AFFAIR: A Confederate Attempt to Buy Supplies in the North Ludwell H. Johnson The fall of Vicksburg and Port Hudson in July, 1863, meant the complete logistical amputation of the Confederate Trans-Mississippi Department from the rest of the South. In the autumn of that same year the Department's foreign trade was seriously curtailed by the Union occupation of Brownsville, Texas. These events enhanced the need for securing supplies from northern sources. Therefore, on December 8, 1863, Lieutenant General E. Kirby Smith concluded a contract with Louis A. Welton in which the latter undertook to import supplies from the North in exchange for cotton. Welton was a native of New York who had gone to St. Louis before the war and had become a steamboat captain. His sister, Virginia, was the wife of George W. Fishback, an editor and part owner of the St. Louis Missouri Democrat. Frank P. Blair, Jr., had been the first editor of the Democrat, which played an important part in promoting a rather militant brand of Republicanism in Missouri and elsewhere. The paper supported Lincoln in his campaign for the Senate in 1858 and received $500 from him to finance its circulation in southern Illinois. John Hay became a correspondent for a time; John G. Nicolay handled subscriptions. Welton's connection with the Democrat was to figure in his later career.1 Business failures in 1857 and 1858 induced Welton to move to New 1 Joseph H. Parks, General Edmund Kirby Smith, C.S.A. (Baton Rouge, 1954), pp. 352-53; Laura Langehennig, "The Steamboat, a Playground for St. Louis in the Fifties," Missouri Histórica! Review, XL (1946), 212; Walter B. Stevens, "Joseph B. McCullagh," ibid., XXVI (1932), 257-59; Jim A. Hart, "The Missouri Democrat, 1852-Ï860," ibid., LV (1961), 129, 132, 134-37. In 1857 the Democrat split with the Benton conservatives and went over to the state emancipationists (Blair faction). That same year Frank Blair, Jr., sold his 1/6 interest to Fishback; Gratz Brown sold out to Fishback in 1857, too. But the driving force in the paper was not Fishback, but William McKee, originally from New York. In 1871 Fishback bought out McKee and the other owners. The latter then founded the St. Louis Globe, an organ of the "Whiskey Ring," to which McKee belonged. In 1875 Fishback sold out to the McKee group, who then merged the two papers as the GlobeDemocrat . For other references to Fishback, see War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Officiai Records of the Union and Confederate Armies (Washington, 1880-1901), Ser. I, Vol. XXII, pt. ii, 373-74, Vol. XLVII, pt. i, 425, and G. W. Fishback to E. M. Stanton, July 4, 1864, Office of the Judge Advocate General, General Courts Martial, NN 2120, Box 1064, Papers Relating to Louis A. Welton, Record Group 153, National Archives, cited hereafter as Welton Papers. 30 Orleans. He was just getting back on his feet financially when the war came, so he decided to stay in the city and continue his business. Since his northern background made him more or less suspect, the course of wisdom was to take a definite stand in favor of the Confederacy. He joined the Orleans Light Horse, but in July, 1861, when it appeared likely that his unit would be ordered to the front, Welton returned to Missouri and joined the pro-Confederate Missouri State Guards as aide-de-camp to General Mosby M. Parsons. When Parsons' division was transferred to the Confederate service in July, 1862, Welton resigned his commission. Then, fearing he would be conscripted into the ranks, he managed to secure special duty with the quartermaster service . By the latter part of 1863 there were signs that Congress was about to revise the draft law so that persons such as Welton would be liable for field duty. Welton then decided to attempt to return to New York and at the same time to make some money. It was for this purpose that he secured the contract with General Kirby Smith. In this agreement Welton undertook to deliver to the Trans-Mississippi Department 26,000 uniform coats, trousers, caps, shoes...

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