General Phil Sheridan and Military Reconstruction in Louisiana

GENERAL PHIL SHERIDAN AND MILITARY RECONSTRUCTION IN LOUISIANA Joseph G. Dawson III Following the surrender of the Confederate armies in 1865, Republican congressmen had argued with President Andrew Johnson about a suitable Reconstruction policy for the South. At first it appeared that Johnson wanted a "vindictive" policy, requiring the South to repudiate the misdeeds of secession and Civil War, punishing Confederate leaders, and granting fundamental civil rights to the former slaves. However, Johnson softened his early harsh statements on Reconstruction and developed his own mild policy, which neglected to mention rights for blacks, without consulting Republican congressional leaders. Southerners added to the bitterness of the immediate post-war months, committing a variety of indiscretions , such as the riots at Memphis and New Orleans, adopting the restrictive Black Codes, and electing former Confederate military and civilian leaders to important offices. Meanwhile, Johnson incurred the wrath of Republicans by vetoing the Freedmen's Bureau bill and a civil rights bill. Subsequently, the Republicans, bickering among themselves over the proper course of restoration, disavowed Johnson's plan and developed their own policy, which was embodied in the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. Johnson opposed the amendment and encouraged the Southern states to reject it. Ironically, only Tennessee, Johnson's home state, ratified the amendment when it was first sent to the states in 1866. Therefore, by 1867 congressional Republicans, bolstered by victories in the election of 1866, decided to formulate a stern Reconstruction policy and planned to use the Army to implement its provisions. The Republicans passed the first Military Reconstruction Act on March 2, 1867, over President Johnson's veto. The law declared that the Southern state governments, which had been established or recognized by the President, were provisional and held no legal authority. Furthermore, the law divided the South into five military districts, whose commanders had to be either brigadier or major generals in the Regular Army. These generals, once selected by the President, would hold all power over civilian governments and 133 134CIVIL WAR HISTORY courts. The law also required the Southern states within these districts to draft new constitutions in constitutional conventions. The right to vote for delegates to these conventions was granted to all adult males, except those disqualified because of service to the Confederacy . Moreover, each of these new constitutions were to contain a provision which enfranchised all adult males who had voted for delegates to the constitutional convention. When the voters in each state accepted the new constitution, they were to elect a new governor and legislators. After the legislature ratified the proposed Fourteenth Amendment, the state's congressmen would be considered for readmission to Congress. Upon readmission, military control would end, and the duly elected civil authorities would resume their proper roles. On March 11, 1867, President Johnson chose the generals for the newly organized Southern military districts. With the exception of John Pope, the appointees had already served varying lengths of Reconstruction duty in the South. General Philip H. Sheridan, who had been in command of Louisiana and Texas since 1865, retained command of these states, which were placed in the Fifth Military District. The extent of General Ulysses S. Grant's influence on Johnson 's choices is not known. Sheridan had spoken out in favor of Radical Republican ideas, but Grant's desire to retain the experienced general in the Southwest may have been decisive in Johnson 's final decision.1 Soon after his appointment as district commander , Sheridan examined sites for additional cavalry posts on the west Texas frontier which had been bothered by Indian raids.2 In Sheridan's General Order No. 1, March 19, 1867, he emphasized to the people of Louisiana and Texas that their civil governments were provisional. The Army held veto power over all actions of civilian officials in the states. A carefully worded paragraph of the order promised no widescale removals of civilian officeholders. However, if any individual should "impede ... or delay" reorganization of the states according to the new Reconstruction laws, such action would be considered grounds for dismissal from office.3 State politicians had received a stern warning to expect that the laws of Congress would be rigorously enforced. 1 Ulysses S. Grant to...