Dred Scott

vs. Sanford. In 1834 Dred Scott, a negro slave of ‘ Mi ouri, was taken by his master, who was a surgeon in the regular army, first into Illinois and then into Minnesota, a region from which slavery was expre ly excluded by the celebrated Mi ouri Compromise of 1820. While in Minnesota Scott was married with his master’s consent, but on being brought back to Mi ouri in 1838, he and his wife and children were sold to another master. Scott brought action for trespa in a St. Louis court, and a decision was made in his favor on the ground that, under the provisions of the Mi ouri Compromise, the negro was free. The Supreme Court of Mi ouri reversed this decision, and the case came before the Federal Circuit Court in 1854. The de. fendant slaveholder pleaded that Scott was not a citizen entitled to sue and be sued in the U. S. Courts. The court held the contrary, but the jury’s verdict decided the plaintiff still a slave. The case came before the Supreme Court of the United States in 1857. Here the judgment of the Circuit Court was reversed, and the case dismi ed on the ground that no negro, bond or free, could plead in the U. S. Courts as a ‘‘citizen.’? The court then, though denying its jurisdiction over the dispute, discu ed the constitutional points. Scott's status in Illinois was declared determined by his Mi ouri domicile. As regarded the Minnesota Territory the court declared the Mi ouri Compromise unconstitutional and void, it being held that States alone could prohibit slavery from their boundaries. Chief Justice Taney read the opinion of a majority of the court, Justices Curtis and McLean di enting. Scott was afterward freed by his master. The decision aroused great excitement in the North. Drewry’s Bluff, or Fort Darling, on Janies River, Va., attacked May 15, 1862, by five Federal war-ships, including the ‘‘ Monitor.” Captain Farrand held the fort with 20,000 Confederates. The Federal fleet was badly disabled and had to retire. Again, May 13-16, 1864, during Butler’s operations with the Army of the James around Bermuda Hundred, Fort Darling, or Drewry’s Bluff, was the scene of some sharp fighting. It was held at that time by Beau regard, who had about 20,000 men. Butler made an attack the morning of the fourteenth and succeeded in carrying some of the Confederate lines. Beau regard hastened to strengthen his position with reinforcements, which oppor- ~ tunely arrived. On the sixteenth Beau regard made a return attack with a strong force and compelled Butler to retire. Butler’s army was also about 20,000 strong. 230