The Controversial Career of
General Eleazer A. Paine
"Entirely unfit to command a post."
U.S. Grant
. "Heartless Tyrant, " Alice Williamson
. "he
is somewhat of a politician and not always discreet," G.W.
Cullum; these are but some of the more printable epithets that were hurled
in the direction of Monmouth's "Hanging General," a man who brought a
reign of terror to Tennessee that in many ways emulated Robespierre's in
brutality. This series of articles on General Paine will attempt to shed
some light on the man and why his name is still uttered with hatred and
contempt in Tennessee.
Eleazer Paine was born in Parkman, in Geauga
County, Ohio on September 10
th, 1815, where his parents lived for 4
to 5 years after their marriage. He was a first cousin to future Civil War
General Halbert E. Paine.
Young Eleazer
applied for and received an appointment to attend West Point.
He graduated from that prestigious
institution in 1839.
He got his first actual
military experience while serving on General (future President) Zachary
Taylor’s staff in Florida, but left the sweltering humidity and fruitless
pursuit of the Seminoles to pursue a career as a lawyer in Ohio. He also became
active in the Ohio militia and rose to the rank of Brigadier General, which he
held from 1845 to 1848.
During his
tenure as Brigadier General he also found the time to compose and publish a
military manual that provided instruction for militia and volunteers.
In
1848 he moved west and settled in Monmouth, Illinois, where he hung out his
shingle and developed a law practice that kept him busy until 1861.
He evidently arrived in Monmouth with ample
funds, as he was able to purchase a lot on the north side of the 300 block of
East Broadway.
He then borrowed money in
1851 to build a home which stood in Monmouth until 1963, when it was razed to
make room for the construction of the Warfield Apartment complex.
Lawyer Paine became active in Whig politics
and during 1853-54 he served in the Illinois legislature as a representative
from his district.
He must have served
as a Justice of the Peace as well, as he is on record as having married a
number of couples at the Mansion House during 1856-57.
His involvement in Whig politics
led him into a friendship with another rising young Illinois lawyer, Abraham
Lincoln.
Paine supported Lincoln in his
campaign to become a member of the legislature, and a letter from 1858 exists
in which the future President asks lawyer Paine for assistance with some legal
services for a friend, Dr. Anson Henry.
“Inclosed you find a letter and inclosure from my old friend, Dr. A. G.
Henry- now of Lafayette, Oregon Territory.
Please look after the matter and write him or me.
Well, the election is over; and, in the main point, we are beaten. Still, my view is that the fight must go
on. Let no one falter. The question is not half settled. New splits and decisions will soon be upon
our adversaries; and we shall [have} fun again.
Yours in haste.
A. Lincoln”
Another interesting tidbit of
history that ties Monmouth to a future President during this time also concerns
the Paine family.
A friend of theirs
from Ohio, a young man by the name of James Abram Garfield was visiting the
Paine family when the battle of 1
st Bull Run took place, a
disastrous defeat for the Federal army.
Garfield resolved shortly afterwards to head east to see if he could be
of assistance in quelling the Rebellion.
His path from Monmouth led him to a distinguished military career, the
rank of Major General, and a political career afterward that led him to a
Presidency that was tragically ended by a demented assassin’s pistol.
Given his West Point education
and his experience with the Ohio militia, Eleazer Paine was called to active
duty in April of 1861, and was commissioned as Colonel of the 9
th
Illinois in July of 1861.
He was
promoted to the rank of Brigadier General USV in September; he then travelled
to Cairo, where he commanded a brigade of militia during the first couple
months of 1862.
He then was assigned to lead
the 4
th Division of the Army of the Mississippi which he did until
April of 1862,
being posted at New Madrid Island Number 10, Fort Pillow and Memphis.
He participated in the Battle of Corinth, under
General Rosecrans.
Already suffering ill
effects from camp life, he was assigned to take charge of the District of
Western Kentucky, where his responsibility was to guard the railroads to keep
the civilian population in line.
Headquartered at Paducah, Kentucky, a critical supply center, he soon
developed a reputation for cruelty and instituting harsh measures against the
civilian population.
He issued orders
that all guerrilla fighters caught within his territory be summarily executed.
From the testimony of citizens who ran afoul
of his wrath, apparently he judged any citizen who was actively supporting the
Confederate cause to be a “guerrilla,” and thus liable to be executed.
Apparently the executions weren’t done
according to military protocol either.
All General Paine wanted to see was the result, a dead rebel
sympathizer.
He had had similar issues
when he was stationed in Cairo.
In response
to a report that five union soldiers had been murdered by rebel cavalry near
Bloomfield, Missouri, he had responded with orders to hang one of the rebel
cavalry for each Union soldier murdered.
After that, two for each.
He
exhorted his command to continue to scout, capture and kill.
The rigors of campaigning became
too much for General Paine’s constitution.
He resigned on April 5
th, 1862, but reconsidered his decision
and shortly after that, re-enlisted.
He
was present on duty but ill from June through August.
Replacing him was considered, but in General
Cullum’s judgment he observed that he did not think that it would be wise to
supersede Paine in command.
“though he is
somewhat of a politician and not always discreet, he is energetic, full of
zeal, has pluck and knows localities. If
Pope is put in command it will deeply mortify and exasperate Paine, who is
burning for a brigade in the field.” The
Monmouth Review Atlas of June, 13
th, 1862 reported that the General
had returned home for a leave to attempt to recoup his health.
He brought home a trophy, a seseech flag that
had been taken from an Alabama regiment, and during his time on leave hung it
proudly from a flagpole in front of his home.
By September he was bedridden.
In
October, when he could be moved, he was granted sick leave.
He was placed on a bed in an ambulance and
was transported to a steamer, which took him back to Cairo.
From there he was taken with a surgeon in
attendance to his home in Monmouth, Illinois.
The attending physician reported that the General was suffering from
general debility and irritation of the bowels consistent with an attack of
bilious remittent fever of a typhoid character.
The seriousness of his fever and
the havoc it can raise with one’s mind is best illustrated by an account
written by J. H. Sherman in an Ithaca, New York, newspaper…
“My friend, General Paine of Monmouth, Illinois, when campaigning in
Tennessee during the war was stricken with malarial fever, and under the
inspiration of quinine had a vision or dream of hell and damnation. He thought he was on the shore of an infinite
ocean flaring with flames and murky with smoke.
Upon its face was revolving a wheel, the edge of which swept the shore
while its circumference extended an unknown distance away into the lurid
darkness. It was thickly weighted with
human beings, (whether in the body or out of the body he couldn’t tell). Each
revolution occupied a thousand years in which period all in their turn were
brought in the shore where Jesus stood viewing the horrible panorama. Toward him the victims as they passed
stretched their arms and cried
“How long, Lord, how long?”
And he shouted out “Forever” as they
were carried on into the fiery gloom.
From November of 1862 when he
returned from his sick leave to April of 1864 he held command of the railroad
guard, making his headquarters in Gallatin, Tennessee.
He ordered construction of Fort Thomas, an
edifice that overlooked the town, and during that time exhibited a ruthless
bent of vindictiveness that earned him the contempt and hatred of the civilian
population whose rights he seemed to take pleasure in violating.
One of the best primary sources for this
period of oppression is the diary of Alice Williamson, whose entries drip with
a venomous contempt for the Union General.
Feb 19th, 1864 What a negligent creature I am. I should have been keeping a journal all this
time to show to my rebel brothers. I
have been studying all the morning and talking all the evening seeking and
sighing for rebels. Our King (old Payne)
has just passed. I suppose that he has
killed every rebel in twenty miles of Gallatin and burned every town. Poor fellow!
You had better be praying, old Sinner!
His Lordship left Tuesday.
Wednesday three wagons loaded with furniture came over. I do not pretend to say that he sent
them. No! I indeed, I would not. I would not slander our king. Any old citizen can see by going to his
(Paynes) palace that his furniture was not taken from Archie Miller’s house
& other places near by. He always
goes for rebels but invariably brings furniture. I suppose his task is to furnish the
contraband camp, i.e. the camp of his angels (colored).
March 2nd Our king
left Monday with a few soldiers in the direction of Hartsville. All the stores are closed by his order and no
passes given till his return. Mr. D. has
come to get Pa to go and hear what he says to his negroes as he is going to
drive them off & he has been so ill used by old Payne that he is afraid to
speak without a witness to prove what he said.
March 3rd Gen. Payne
rode out this evening to look at the stock, in his last trip he killed only one
man (citizen, he always kills citizens when he can’t find soldiers) swears he
will kill every man in Gallatin and Hartsville if bushwacking isn’t stopped
shortly.
March 11th I learn
today that Gen. Payne had no charge against Mr. Dalton, so he told his
(Dalton’s) father. After killing him he
rode back to the house and told Mr. D. that his son was in sight- that he could
bury him if he wished. Today a gentleman
(Col. E.) was in Payne’s office when he was trying a young man about sixteen
years old and the only support of the aged father who was with him. His crime was being a rebel. Payne sent the young man to jail telling the
guard to bring him out at 7 o’clock. The
father actually fell upon his knees before the heartless tyrant but was
heartlessly bidden to rise and go home.
The young man has not been heard of since.
March 12th Old Payne
dined at Mrs. Hales today; every one despises him but are afraid to show
it. Yesterday he went up the country a
few miles to a Mr. Dalton’s whose son came home from the Southern Army the day
before and on the same day had taken the amnesty oath. Riding up to the door he inquired of Mr.
Dalton if his son was at home but before he answered his son came to the
door. Old Nick then told him to get his
horse and go with him. After insulting
the father he carried his son a half mile away and shot him six times. One of Payne’s escort, hearing the young man
groan with pain placed a pistol to his temple and remarked, “I will stop that
Sir.” He shot him again. But this is nothing new. This is the fifth man that has been shot in
this way, besides numbers that have been carried off.
April 6th Payne is himself again. A few days ago he went to Mr. Prince’s with a
young gentleman of elegant appearance and demanded said gentleman’s
baggage. Mrs. Prince told him that it
was not there and that she had never seen the man before. The stranger vowed he had never seen the
house or lady before. Payne said he
would carry the “feller” back to jail…..He has not been seen since.
April 7th Another soldier was shot yesterday. The Yankees went to jail and brought him
while a citizen was standing near. He
said the soldier was very poorly clad but his countenance was that of a
gentleman. When the guard brought his
horse to him (a broken down nag from the camp) he asked what they were going to
do with them. On being told to “mount
the horse and say no more”…he did so remarking that he supposed that they were
going to shoot him. They took him to the
river to shoot him, but finding some gentlemen there- Mr. H. & Mr. M., they
said that they had gone into a hornet’s nest to shoot and went somewhere
else. When they carry them out to shoot
them they give them a worn-out horse and tell them that if they can escape,
they may: they say they “have fun
chasing the boy with fresh horses.”
During 1863 General Paine
continued to tighten his despotic grip over the Gallatin region.
He took great personal pleasure in giving
patriotic speeches and demanding support from the local newspapers.
His men were urged to scour the region
looking for rebels and suspected bushwackers.
An example of this was a raid that he led eastward into Kentucky, using
cavalry to round up suspected rebels who were often summarily executed without
the benefit of legal counsel or the due process of a trial.
By April of 1864 reports of General
Paine’s Reign of Terror had filtered back to headquarters.
General Grant, always one to deplore needless
cruelty, voiced the opinion that General Paine was entirely unfit to command a
post.”
However, he remained in his
position until the end of the month, when he was transferred to Tullahoma,
Tennessee by orders of General William Tecumseh Sherman.
General Rousseau,
Nashville, Tennessee: Order General and the regiment now at
Gallatin to Tullahoma, and give him charge of defense of the road, embracing
Duck and Elk Creek Bridges, Replace Paine’s troops by some guard at the
bridges. The road north of Nashville is
not important to me but the south road is vital. Remember to place gun racks and muskets in
all the forts and strong buildings, so that the citizens may, if necessary,
assist in the defense of Nashville. But
there is no danger now and cannot be for a month to come.
W. T. Sherman
Removed from Gallatin to a different locale, General Paine continued
his harsh treatment of civilians and intemperate talk.
He was transferred to the Military District of Illinois, a backwater command and one in which he could do little harm. Having returned to Monmouth in September, again in ill-health and accompanied by his wife and a personal physician, he remained in that position, "awaiting further orders," until he finally resigned in November of 1864. By this time, additional
complaints that had surfaced from his time in Paducah, coupled with the old accusations, led to a formal investigation.
Twenty seven charges were eventually brought against him. This Congressional based inquiry into his
actions found him guilty on only one count though, that of allegedly denouncing a superior officer in public. He had denounced Major General Henry Wager Halleck as "A God-damned coward and a damned rascal." He probably could have been found guilty of other charges as well. but the war was grinding to a victorious finish for the North, (by this time it was March of 1865) and the General had already resigned, so there was little interest in levying a harsh sentence. The only punishment he received was a formal reprimand, which was later remitted. Out of consideration
for his ill health, his date of resignation was later adjusted to April 5
th,
1865.
After the war he resumed his
practice of law in Monmouth.
He is noted
in the 1870 Warren County census as a lawyer, owning land worth $5000 and
property worth $520.
During their later
years General Paine and his wife Charlotte alternated their residence between
their two daughters.
It was while
staying with the daughter who lived in Jersey City, New Jersey, the daughter
who had lost her husband to typhoid fever a few months earlier, that General
Paine took ill.
By the time a doctor was
summoned, the illness had worsened to pneumonia.
He died on December 16
th, 1882.
For many decades it was thought
that General Eleazer A, Paine had been buried in the Old Bergen Churchyard in
Jersey City in the same plot as his recently deceased son-in-law..
Since the grave was unmarked and the cemetery
records had disappeared over the years, it was believed that General Paine’s
final resting place was “lost to history.”
In the 1980s though, a diligent Civil War researcher discovered his
records and located his burial site in Oakland Cemetery in St. Paul,
Minnesota.
When I visited the cemetery I
found it to be a toppled GAR stone that the surrounding earth was slowly
creeping over, like grass re-occupying an abandoned sidewalk.
Despite the high rank he achieved during the
war, given the man’s contempt for due process and the pleasure he seemed to
derive in making a sport of executing suspected rebels, the neglected condition
of the stone probably equates to the kind of memorial that he deserves.
Not all who don a uniform are heroes.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Generals in Blue Ezra Warner, Louisiana University Press,
1964
Medical Histories of Union Generals Kent
State University Press, 1990
General Eleazer Arthur Paine Steve
Payne homepage
Eleazer A. Paine Wikipedia entry
Eleazer A. Paine Find A Grave
Eleazer A. Paine-The Man, The Myth,
The Hair Meg Thompson
Ralph Eckley Papers
Warren County Library
Alice Williamson Diary online,
courtesy of Duke University.
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