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the candidate of the newly formed Republican party for the Presidency of the
United States, assumed the command of the
Western Department. He was in
Europe when the war broke out, and on the 14th of May, 1861, he was commissioned a major-general of Volunteers.
On receiving notice of his appointment, he left his private affairs abroad in the hands of others, and hastened home.
He arrived at
Boston on the 27th of June,
bringing with him an assortment of arms for his Government, and on the 6th of July he was appointed to the important command in the
West just mentioned.
1 He remained a short time in New York,. where he made arrangements for over twenty thousand stand of arms, with munitions of war, to be sent to his Department.
On hearing of the disaster at
Bull's Ruln, he left for the
West, and arrived at
St. Louis on the 26th of July, where
Colonel Harding,
Lyon's
Adjutant-General, was in command.
Fremont had already issued orders for
General John Pope to proceed from
Alton, in Illinois, with troops to suppress the, armed Secessionists in
Northern Missouri,
who, as we have observed, had commenced the destruction of railways, and depredations upon the Unionists.
Fremont made his Headquarters in
St. Louis at the house of the late
Colonel Brant, an elegant and splendid mansion, and proceeded at once with great vigor in the performance of his duties.
He found disorder everywhere prevailing.
The terms of enlistment of the Home Guards, or three-months men, were expiring; and these, being composed chiefly of working-men, with dependent families, and having been some time without pay, were unwilling to re-enlist — in fact, some yet in the
service were in a state of mutiny on that account.
Fremont was embarrassed.
He had very little money at his, disposal to meet the just demands of these soldiers; neither had he arms for new recruits, who were now coming into
St. Louis in considerable numbers, and were compelled to remain there in idleness for lack of weapons, when he was anxious to send them to the aid of
Lyon, and to points exposed to capture.
The guns ordered at New York were detained for the use of the Army of the Potomac.
Indeed, the
National authorities were so absorbed in
