John P. Slough
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John Potts Slough (February 1, 1829 – December 17, 1867; last name pronounced like 'plough') was an American politician, lawyer,
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general during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
, and assassinated Chief Justice of
New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...
. He commanded the Union forces at the
Battle of Glorieta Pass The Battle of Glorieta Pass (March 26–28, 1862) in the northern New Mexico Territory, was the decisive battle of the New Mexico campaign during the American Civil War. Dubbed the " Gettysburg of the West" by some authors (a term described ...
.


Early life and career

Slough was born in
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
,
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, son of a steamboat builder. Educated at the
University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...
law school, he practiced law in Cincinnati before being elected to the Ohio General Assembly. While serving there, he struck a fellow assemblyman and was expelled for "an act unbecoming of a gentleman." His constituents reelected him to fill his vacant seat. In 1857, he relocated to Leavenworth, Kansas, opened a law office, and entered the fight against the introduction of slavery into the territory, during the era of
Bleeding Kansas Bleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas, or the Border War was a series of violent civil confrontations in Kansas Territory, and to a lesser extent in western Missouri, between 1854 and 1859. It emerged from a political and ideological debate over the ...
. He served in the
Wyandotte Constitution The Wyandotte Constitution is the constitution of the U.S. state of Kansas. Background The Kansas Territory was created in 1854. The largest issue by far in territorial Kansas was whether slavery was to be permitted or prohibited; aside from the m ...
convention—making Kansas a "free" state—and, again, settled a legislative difference with his fists. He moved to
Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
, in 1860 and continued to practice law, becoming one of the city's more distinguished lawyers. With the establishment of the new
Colorado Territory The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Colorado. The territory was organized in the ...
in early 1861, he helped organize the courts system, establishment of the bar, and review of professional peers.


Civil War service

In 1861 the Civil War began and Slough immediately began recruiting for the federal army. Colorado Governor
William Gilpin (governor) William Gilpin (October 4, 1813 – January 20, 1894) was a 19th-century US explorer, politician, land speculator, and futurist writer about the American West. He served as military officer in the United States Army during several wars, accomp ...
appointed him in the call for volunteers as a captain, the 1st Colorado "Pike's Peakers" Infantry Regiment. Members of his regiment were initially skeptical of his loyalty to the Union due to his association with the
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. In August 1861, Slough was commissioned
colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...
in command of the regiment. In 1862 a
Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...
army was invading the New Mexico Territory, had defeated Col. Edward R. S. Canby's troops at the battle of Valverde, and captured Albuquerque and the capital of Santa Fe. Coming to the aid of the Union forces in New Mexico, Slough marched his regiment to Fort Union and, as the senior ranking officer, assumed command of the post, and its New Mexico Volunteers. A Confederate force under Lt. Col.
William Read Scurry William Read Scurry (February 10, 1821 – April 30, 1864) was a general in the Confederate States Army in the American Civil War. Biography Scurry was born in Gallatin, Tennessee. He moved to Texas in 1839 and became a lawyer and district a ...
was moving to capture Fort Union. Col. Slough marched his regiment toward
Glorieta Pass Glorieta Pass (elevation 7500 ft.) is a mountain pass in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of northern New Mexico. The pass is at a strategic location near at the southern end of the Sangre de Cristos in east central Santa Fe County southeast ...
to intercept Scurry. On March 26, 1862, an advanced unit met the Confederates at Apache Canyon, an inconclusive skirmish ensued. Two days later, on March 28, the armies met at Pigeon's Ranch on the Santa Fe Trail below Glorieta Pass. Slough and Scurry fought an initially indecisive action at the
Battle of Glorieta Pass The Battle of Glorieta Pass (March 26–28, 1862) in the northern New Mexico Territory, was the decisive battle of the New Mexico campaign during the American Civil War. Dubbed the " Gettysburg of the West" by some authors (a term described ...
. The Texans were pushing the Coloradans back, but the battle was turned to a victory for the Union after Slough sent Major John M. Chivington on a flank attack, which destroyed the Confederate's supply train. The battle was considered a Union strategic victory but a Confederate tactical victory. Slough's regiment had stopped the advance of the Confederates, which soon abandoned New Mexico and retreated back to Texas. Following the battle, Slough received direct orders from Canby to remain at Fort Union. Though dated and sent before the battle, while the Confederate army divided Canby and Slough's communication line, the order has been debated as confirmation or not that Slough had disobeyed Canby's orders by leaving Fort Union in the first place. Slough met with Canby, determined the war in New Mexico was over, resigned his commission, and immediately headed to the Eastern theater. At the first anniversary after the battle of Glorieta, his former Colorado troops sent him a gold inlaid sword as thanks for making the rag tag volunteers into a fighting force. In response Slough wrote: “Remember the holy character of the cause in which you are engaged. Remember that you are American soldiers, battling in the cause of universal freedom.” Through his wife's McLean family ties (the chief justice of the U. S. Supreme Court was a relative), Slough went to
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, where he was given command of a brigade in the Shenandoah Valley during Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign of 1862. His forces were stationed at
Harpers Ferry Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia. It is located in the lower Shenandoah Valley. The population was 285 at the 2020 census. Situated at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, where the U.S. stat ...
and saw little action. He was appointed brigadier general of volunteers of August 25, 1862, and became the military governor of
Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C. In 2020, the population was 159,467. ...
. For the rest of the war, he commanded the District of Alexandria. In December 1862, he sat on the court-martial that convicted Maj. Gen.
Fitz John Porter Fitz John Porter (August 31, 1822 – May 21, 1901) (sometimes written FitzJohn Porter or Fitz-John Porter) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general during the American Civil War. He is most known for his performance at the Se ...
of disobedience and misconduct.


Postbellum career

When the Civil War ended in 1865, Slough resigned his commission and opened a law office in Washington, D. C. In January 1866,
United States President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
Andrew Johnson, appointed him to serve as chief justice of the New Mexico Territorial Court. One of his first and most personal acts was to seek funds to mark the graves of the Union dead and place monuments at the Civil War battle sites of Valverde, Apache Canyon, and Glorieta, New Mexico (only one in Santa Fe was erected). He also arrived to reform the legal system. Among the cases with the greatest impact was his decision that
Pueblo Indians The Puebloans or Pueblo peoples, are Native Americans in the Southwestern United States who share common agricultural, material, and religious practices. Currently 100 pueblos are actively inhabited, among which Taos, San Ildefonso, Acoma, Z ...
were U. S. citizens, could testify in his courts, especially in land disputes, and were equals in the eyes of the court, a decision eventually upheld by the U. S. Supreme Court. In February, 1867, he attacked the system of
peonage Peon ( English , from the Spanish ''peón'' ) usually refers to a person subject to peonage: any form of wage labor, financial exploitation, coercive economic practice, or policy in which the victim or a laborer (peon) has little control over em ...
in New Mexico, in anticipation of the Federal law against debt peonage—involuntary servitude—signed by President Johnson March 2, 1867. His entire career was that of a reformer, and what he found in New Mexico he thought was akin to the
slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
he had fought in the Civil War to defeat. Many New Mexicans sought his removal, because of these destabilizing decisions, but also for his efforts to correct court room antics, especially after a decision against an old ''padron'' for selling liquor to Indians. A local jury would not convict; he removed them and held a new trial; after Slough sentenced the ''padron'' to a year in prison, the territorial governor pardoned him, which sent Slough into a tirade. Sharp-tongued with a fiery temper, he was appointed to fight corruption, but observers thought he was too heavy-handed about it. In 1867 William Logan Rynerson, a member of the Territorial Legislative Council, took part in a campaign to denigrate the judge, and authored a resolution in the legislature to have the judge removed, leading Slough to slander Rynerson publicly. On December 15, 1867, Rynerson drew a gun on the judge in Santa Fe and said, "Take it back." Slough exclaimed, "Shoot and be damned!" and Rynerson fired. Mortally wounded, Slough drew a derringer but was unable to fire. He died two days later.Gary L. Roberts, ''Death Comes for the Chief Justice: The Slough-Rynerson Quarrel and Political Violence in New Mexico''
University Press of Colorado, 1990, p. 70
In a mockery of a trial, Rynerson was found not guilty (by reason of self-defense), an example of the growing power of what became known as the Republican-controlled
Santa Fe Ring The Santa Fe Ring was a group of powerful attorneys and land speculators in the United States during the late 19th century and into the early 20th century. It amassed a fortune through political corruption and fraudulent land deals. Many prominen ...
. Outcries for a nonpartisan investigation were ignored over the protests of friends in New Mexico, Denver, and Cincinnati. The historian Richard Henry Brown says that the murder of Slough "helped affirm the position of New Mexico as 'apparently the only place where assassination became an integral part of the political system.'"Jason Silverman, "Frontier Law: The Assassination of a Chief Justice"
''Untold New Mexico,'' Sunstone Press, 2006, pp. 68-71. For more on Rynerson, see
John Tunstall John Henry Tunstall (6 March 1853 – 18 February 1878) was an English-born rancher and merchant in Lincoln County, New Mexico, United States. He competed with the Irish Catholic merchants, lawmen, and politicians who ran the town of Li ...
.


See also

*
List of assassinated American politicians This is a list of assassinated American politicians sorted alphabetically. They were elected or appointed to office, or were candidates for public office. There are 53 assassinated American politicians listed. The most common method of homicide w ...
*
List of American Civil War generals (Union) Union generals __NOTOC__ The following lists show the names, substantive ranks, and brevet ranks (if applicable) of all general officers who served in the United States Army during the Civil War, in addition to a small selection of lower-ranke ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Slough, John P. 1829 births 1867 deaths 1867 murders in the United States People of Colorado in the American Civil War Assassinated American politicians Members of the Ohio House of Representatives Lawyers from Cincinnati Lawyers from Denver Politicians from Alexandria, Virginia People of Ohio in the American Civil War Union Army generals People murdered in New Mexico New Mexico Territory judges Deaths by firearm in New Mexico 19th-century American politicians Lawyers from Alexandria, Virginia 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers Assassinated American former elected officials