Rev. William Salter walked in to the crude Federal field hospital near Marietta, Georgia in July 1864. Talking with pain-wracked Union troops drained Salter of energy and sympathy. He was surprised to meet Green Ballinger, a wounded Confederate from Iowa.
Salter was a former conductor on the Iowa Underground Railroad. He generally opposed war, but he supported the Union. He was in Marietta on a mission of mercy with the Christian Commission.
Twenty-four-year-old Green was seriously wounded in thigh and shoulder. He told Pastor Salter of his home in Keokuk and his father’s home in nearby Sandusky. Green said he had been opposed to “the Rebellion” (Salter’s words), but the “force of circumstance” led him into the Confederate army.
Green’s family had roots in Kentucky and a kinship network throughout the South. His father, James F. Ballinger, had been a clerk of court and a slave-owner. Because of his father’s two marriages, Green had older siblings and half-siblings.
Looking for economic opportunity, Green’s father moved his family to Keokuk in 1854. So did Green’s brother-in-law, Samuel F. Miller, a doctor turned lawyer. Keokuk’s economy boomed soon after they arrived.
National events foreshadow a family split
Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act in March 1854. Samuel F. Miller was a Whig (unlike his Democratic in-laws). He predicted that slavery would split the national Whig and Democratic parties. Miller wrote Green’s half-brother in Texas, William P. Ballinger, of “a real danger that you and I shall live in different nations.”
The Panic of 1857 hit Keokuk hard
Three years later, Keokuk began a slow decline in the financial Panic of 1857. By summer 1860, the economy was in bad shape. Samuel F. Miller (now a rising member of the Iowa Republican Party), Green’s father, and Green’s older brother struggled to stay afloat in Keokuk. The family sent 20-year-old Green to Texas (where the economy was better) to visit relatives. They expected him to return.
In late July 1860, Green visited his half-brother William P. Ballinger and brother-in-law Benjamin A. Botts, both of whom owned slaves.
After Lincoln’s election, Texas seceded, and South Carolinians fired upon Ft. Sumter. Green was still in Texas.
A former Confederate assistant surgeon wrote, “Nearly every northern man was suspected of not being truly southern if he had not enlisted in some sort of military company.”
Terry’s Texas Rangers
Brother-in-law Botts helped form Terry’s Texas Rangers, and Green joined, too. Half-brother William P. Ballinger became a Confederate sequestration receiver.
It’s not clear why Green enlisted. The “force of circumstance” could have been his Texas relatives’ expectations, and/or his need for a job. Perhaps Green also got caught up in the local enthusiasm for war.
Divided family
Green’s father in Keokuk remained loyal to the Union, and his older brother enlisted in the Union Army. President Lincoln nominated Green’s brother-in-law, Samuel F. Miller, to the U.S. Supreme Court. Green’s mother, on the other hand, felt she couldn’t support “war against her own children.” She sympathized with the Confederacy.
In July 1864, Green was badly wounded in the Atlanta Campaign. Rev. Salter told Green he would contact his father in Iowa. Green died a month later.
When the war finally ended, Green’s father and other family members wrote letters to their Confederate relatives. The letters expressed a “proscriptive vindictive Unionism.” Then Green’s family had a small reunion. Looking his relatives in the eye, Green’s father allowed that his kin could have served the C.S.A. out of “patriotism and devotion to principle.”
# # # #
John Moretta’s excellent book, William Pitt Ballinger: Texas Lawyer, Southern Statesman, 1825-1888, was very helpful in writing this post.
Thanks for reading my blog! Please let me know what you think about it.
Pat Granstra
25 Jun 2015We may never know how many families were divided by their positions on the war or how permanent those divisions were. Good reading!
David Connon
25 Jun 2015I agree, Pat. Thanks for reading my blog!
Will
25 Jun 2015Excellent story thanks for sharing it with us…
David Connon
25 Jun 2015Hi, Will.
Thanks for your kind comment. And thanks for reading my blog!
iowapeacechief
25 Jun 2015War is such folly. As the song says, when will they (we) ever learn? It’s still way too easy to get “caught up in the local enthusiasm for war” and/or else submit willy-nilly to “force of circumstance.” I’ve been giving you the benefit of the doubt regarding your slogan “Not to defend, but to understand.” For my two cents, this is one of your best yet. Thanks, David.
David Connon
25 Jun 2015Hi, Iowa Peace Chief.
Thanks for your thoughtful comments. It seems that young men, especially those who love adventure, find “the local enthusiasm for war” to be very powerful. Thanks for reading my blog!
Bill Gurely
25 Jun 2015Neat story. Thanks for sharing that
David Connon
25 Jun 2015Hi, Bill.
Thanks!
Kathy Wilson
26 Jun 2015Informative and well written, David. Keep up the great research!
David Connon
26 Jun 2015Hi, Kathy.
Thanks for the encouragement!
Steve Hanken
26 Jun 2015“Force of circumstance” could well have been simply enlist or find yourself at the end of a rope. In cases like this, conscious decision making is hampered by one’s interest in staying alive, it isn’t always about “enthusiasm” for war. Playing martyr is not a common thing for the average person to whole heartily embrace, better to take your chances on the battlefield than to just end your life for principle at the end of rope or facing a firing squad.
David Connon
26 Jun 2015Hi, Steve.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I agree that intimidation could cause a person to enlist. However, I haven’t found documentation showing that Texans threatened any men with death (or otherwise intimidated them) unless they enlisted. (I have seen one or two claims of intimidation, but the claims are fairly vague. Since I lack detailed information, I can’t adequately understand the nature of the threats. Likewise, without detailed information, I can’t substantiate or discredit the claims.) If you can point me to any pertinent documentation, I would appreciate it. Thanks for reading my blog!
Steve Hanken
27 Jun 2015I have no specific cases, however, if the Home guard was as nasty in Texas as it was in “Cold Mountain”, it would not be a stretch to assume the worse of you were a Northerner stranded in the south. As for reading your blog posts, I find them interesting and well written, my question would be to you, why wouldn’t I read them? They are insightful and interesting!
David Connon
27 Jun 2015You made a good point. Thanks for your encouragement!
Kathleen Parsons
28 Jun 2015This was truly engrossing stuff. I read it twice and shall re-read it a third time later. Thanks for your clear investigative work – and the chart, for those of us who thrive on tables and bullet-points! It made the unfortunate scenario come alive.
David Connon
28 Jun 2015Hi, Kathleen.
Thank you! I’m glad that the chart was helpful.
Caroline Lehman
29 Jun 2015I always enjoy reading your âchaptersâ.
Caroline
David Connon
29 Jun 2015Thanks, Caroline!
Pingback: NBA2K16
David Connon
7 Jun 2016Thank you, NBA2k16! Best wishes, David