In late summer and early fall 1861, near Pilot Knob, Missouri, Rebel recruiters under Major General Sterling ‘Old Pap’ Price maintained a secret rendezvous for new enlistees at Higginbotham Plantation. But the Confederates there had no idea that Yankees camped nearby had already discovered their secret outpost. And they were unaware two Federal spies lurked in their midst monitoring every move. One of them, trying to appear relaxed, struggling to impersonate a Rebel recruit, was Julian E. Bryant. The two companions strolled easily into the recruiting headquarters, where their cordial enemies entertained them nobly. After the spies had gathered valuable information on the inner working of this installation, they conveyed pertinent messages to their command. That night Federal troopers captured the plantation and presented arms to 20 slaves, who then escorted their former masters to Bryant’s 33d Illinois camp. (Supposedly the first instance in which slaves were liberated and armed, this episode perhaps urged Bryant to consider using black men militarily. But it was still just an idea. Official sanction would not be granted until November 1862.)

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One of the Federals really was not much of a spy. Julian Bryant was a man of practical artistic talent, persuasiveness, brilliant leadership, and unexcelled determination, with a rich humanitarian background. And he was remembered that way. Like the youths on both sides, he joined the army of his choice, believing he fought for justice on the battlefield. But he also did his part behind a pencil, and among unfulfilled black soldiers or contrabands. And unlike others, he had more than his share of connections and ability. A nephew of abolitionist William Cullen Bryant, he served under Major General Ulysses S. Grant in the Vicksburg Campaign, led raw black troops in their own defense at Milliken’s Bend, Louisiana, and knew some success before knowing tragedy. Then, less than a month after the North claimed victory, he died.

Deeply rooted in compassion. Bryant’s background stressed change in a day when its only synonym was progress. His grandfather, Dr. Peter Bryant of Massachusetts, was a senator and a surgeon who had impressed his sons with a ‘universal brotherhood of man’ philosophy. He also stressed practical application. At his home, servants ate at the same table and were treated as equals, regardless of their color. Taking the doctor’s cue, when three of his sons moved to Princeton, Illinois, in 1831, they practically applied this ideal and started an intense underground railroad system. Though Julian’s father Arthur was not avidly involved in the ‘railroad’ activities, his uncle John Howard was one of the leaders, frequently hiding as many as 15 runaway slaves in his home. His other uncle, Cyrus, utilized his barn as a station. And Owen Lovejoy, congressman and brother of Elijah Lovejoy, heatedly exerted his abolitionist energies, causing the Bryant brothers’ Princeton to emerge as ‘one of the greatest Negro-stealing places in the West.’ Such was Julian Bryant’s inspiration.

Born November 9, 1836, from the time young Bryant was an earnest schoolboy until the day the outbreak of civil war called him to account for his family convictions, he had a fevered, youthful interest in three things: drawing, debate, and the eradication of slavery. And he pursued these subjects with almost equal intensity. But his friends best remembered his flair for speaking. With an influence surpassing his height, 5 feet, 6 inches, and exhibiting his flair for the dramatic, he gave his school farewell speech. Its effect, others remembered, was profound. It moved several classmates to tears.

Considering his future, it seemed best that one of his interests blossomed into a career. Young Bryant chose art. At age 21, he traveled to New York and spent a year sketching nature. Then he returned to Princeton for an extended period of self-education, applying what he had learned. When the Civil War began, it found him as an art instructor at Bloomington Normal College.

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